Lifetime of Lies
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: After his mother makes a surprise visit, McGee learns that he has been lied to for his whole life, and that he has a surprsing connection to Gibbs.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its characters.**

**Lifetime of Lies**

Special Agent Gibbs walked into NCIS. He was on his to the office to start work for the day. He was almost to the elevator when a woman light brown hair bumped into him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I…"

Gibbs didn't hear the rest of her apology. He was too busy trying to figure out who she was. He recognized her. He stared at her to try to figure out where he knew her from. After a few minutes, he got it. "Clare Jacobs."

The woman was surprised to see that this man recognized her. She looked at him closer and then figured out why. "Jethro."

"It's been a long time, Clare," Gibbs said. Clare was someone he'd dated in high school. It hadn't worked out obviously, but they were close at one point.

"Yeah, it has. And by the way, it's Clare McGee now," she said.

Gibbs sighed. "So you married the bastard."

"Come on, Jethro, it's been over thirty years. Can't you let this grudge against Brad go?" Clare asked.

"I don't have a grudge against him. I just think he's a bastard. You gonna tell me I'm wrong?" Gibbs asked.

"Look I know he did some stupid things, but that was years ago," she said.

"So what brings you here, Clare?" Gibbs asked. He had to wonder how his old high school girlfriend ended up at the place he worked a lifetime later.

"Oh, I'm just here to see someone," Clare said evasively.

Gibbs looked at her suspiciously. For some reason she didn't want him to know why she was there. That told him that there was something she didn't want him to know.

"Mom."

Gibbs turned saw Tim McGee coming towards them. "McGee?" After saying it, he could've slapped himself upside the head for not putting it together sooner. McGee was the same last name as Clare's bastard husband.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Tim asked.

"Can't a mother come and visit her son?" Clare asked smiling. There was also a bit of uneasiness in her voice.

"Well, of course you can, it's just that I didn't expect you. Is Dad with you?" Tim asked. He hoped the answer was no. He didn't really get along with his father.

"Not this time," she said.

Gibbs stayed silent during the whole exchange. He was too busy trying to wrap his mind around it. Not just the fact that one of his agents was the son of his old girlfriend, but also because of what it could mean. They were together not long before Tim was born. He would have to be pretty stupid not to figure out what that could mean.

"Oh, Boss, this is my mother, Clare-"

"We know each other, Tim. We were old friends in high school," Clare said.

Gibbs eyed her suspiciously. She was deliberately keeping the truth of their past relationship from her son. That was one more thing that didn't sit well with him.

"Oh, wow," Tim said surprised. He never would've guessed that his mother and Gibbs knew each other. "I can't believe you guys know each other.

"It was a long time ago. So are you going to take me to your place?" Clare asked her son, trying to change the subject and get out of there.

Tim turned to Gibbs. "Is it alright if I just run her there quickly, Boss?"

Gibbs nodded and headed for the elevator. All he thought about on the elevator ride was the encounter he just had and what it could mean for both him and Tim. Tim was the right age. It had been thirty-four years since he'd been with Clare. That was less than a year before Tim was born. He needed to find out exactly when Tim was born so that he could determine exactly how big the possibility was that he was the young agent's father.

After what seemed like forever, the elevator stopped where his office was. He immediately walked through the office and up the stairs towards the director's office. He then barged right in to Director Vance's office.

"Oh, please come in, Gibbs," Vance said sarcastically.

"I need McGee's personnel file," Gibbs said abruptly. He had no time for small talk, he needed answers.

"What for?" Vance asked.

"Would you just get it for me, Leon?" Gibbs asked desperately. He could hardly believe any of this was happening. This was the last thing he expected when he got there this morning.

Vance immediately got up and headed towards the file cabinet. He took out a file and handed it to Gibbs.

Gibbs quickly opened the file and began going through it. He was looking for McGee's birthdate. He found it after a few minutes. McGee was born on February 7, 1977. Gibbs mentally counted back nine months. It worked out so that McGee was conceived right before Gibbs left his hometown, which was very possible. Gibbs could hardly believe it, but there was a very real possibility that Tim McGee was his son.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs stared at Tim from his desk. He couldn't stop looking at him. This young man could be his son. Yesterday if someone told him that Tim McGee could be his son, he would've laughed. Now he knew it was a real possibility. He looked to see if he could see any of himself in Tim, and he could when he really looked, but that could just be because now he knew it was possible. He might just be seeing things.

Gibbs sighed. What would he do if Tim was his son? Everything would change if that happened. Tim would no longer be just another agent under his command. He wouldn't be able to see him the way he saw Tony and Ziva anymore. Yes, he cared about the others as well, but Tim would be his son, his flesh in blood. He'd be a part of his life forever.

Across the room, Tim felt really uneasy. Gibbs had been looking at him since he got back. Had he done something wrong? He didn't think he had. Yes, he'd left to take his mother to his place, but Gibbs had okayed that, so it couldn't be that.

Soon, Gibbs' phone began to ring. He quickly seized it up. "Yeah, Gibbs?" He listened for a while before hanging up. "Grab your gear. We've got a dead marine," he said as he stood up.

Gibbs watched as Tim downed the rest of his coffee and threw it in the trash. Gibbs threw his keys to Tony. "I'll meet you in the truck.

Tony blinked in confusion, but led the way to the elevator.

Gibbs waited until they all left before going over to Tim's trash and removing his coffee cup. He was going to take it to Abby and have her compare it to his own DNA. It was the best way he knew of finding out if Tim really was his son. He'd thought about asking Clare, but he didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth.

He quickly put the coffee put in a bag and into his desk before grabbing his gear and heading towards the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab. He'd gone straight there from the crime scene. "Abbs."

Abby turned around from her place at the computer. "Gibbs, what are you doing here? I don't even have anything yet. I have to wait for Ducky to give me the slug from our victim."

"That's not why I'm here, Abbs." Gibbs said. He knew she wouldn't have anything for their case yet. He was there to get her to do the DNA test.

"Then why, Gibbs?" Abby asked.

"I need a favor," he said before taking two bags out of his pocket. One held Tim's coffee cup and the other held a strand of Gibbs' hair. "I need you to compare these for a paternity test."

"A paternity test? For who?" Abby asked.

"How long will it take?" Gibbs asked, purposely ignoring her question.

"Well, I'm assuming that the case takes first priority, right?"

Gibbs nodded. As much as he wanted to know about Tim, the case had to come first. "I do need the information as soon as possible though."

"Well, it depends on how long the case takes. I'll start it as soon as I'm done with the evidence for this case," Abby said.

"Give me a timetable Abby," Gibbs said.

"Maybe tomorrow," she said.

Gibbs nodded. He didn't want to wait that long, but he supposed one day wouldn't make much difference. "Call me the second you get it, and don't mention this to anyone about this," he said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, Tim was in his apartment having dinner with his mother. "So how come you didn't call to say you were coming?"

"Well, you never call me," Clare said.

"That's not true," Tim said. It kind of was true though. He rarely did call her. Every time he called his parents, he ended up getting into a huge fight with his father, and he wanted to avoid that.

"I haven't heard from you in months, Tim. Sarah calls home at least once a week, but not you. Why?" Clare asked.

"You know why," Tim said unhappily. He really didn't want to have this conversation with his mother again.

"I wish you would just try to get along with your father," she said.

"So are you seeing Sarah while you're here?" Tim asked, trying to change the subject.

"Tim, don't change the subject," Clare said.

"Mom, I don't want to have this conversation with you again," Tim said. It seemed they fought about his father every time they spoke. "Look, Dad and I are never going to have a relationship. Accept it."

"Your father loves you, Tim," Clare told him.

"No, he doesn't," he said. He'd accepted a long time ago that his father didn't love him.

"How can you say that?" Clare asked.

"I don't know, maybe because he's never said one kind word to me my entire life. God, my boss has been more of a father to me than he has," Tim said before returning to his food, not noticing the way his mother flinched when he said it.

"You're close to him?" Clare asked uncomfortably.

"To who, Gibbs?" Tim asked before shrugging his shoulders. "Well, closer than people usually are to their bosses. He acts like a father to us most of time," he said. He thought about every time Gibbs would slap them upside the head. It was like the act of a father trying to set his kids straight about something. "I still can't believe you know him.

Clare shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "It was a long time ago.

"Listen, I know this is a personal question, but I have to ask. Were you and Gibbs ever more than friends?" Tim asked. He'd been wondering ever since he'd found out. He wondered if that was why Gibbs kept staring at him today.

"No, of course not," she lied. "I told you before, your father and I dated all of high school. I never dated anyone else.

"Okay," Tim said. If his mother said they were just friends, he believed her. She had no reason to lie to him.

"I'm going to go call your father," Clare said. She had to get out of there before her son realized she was lying to him.

Tim nodded. "I'll start cleaning up," Tim said before he began clearing the dishes from the table.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Gibbs slowly made his way to Abby's lab. As he did, he felt the pit of his stomach doing backflips. He was about to find out if Tim was his son. He hadn't been this nervous since Shannon told him she was pregnant. He made his way inside the lab, where he found Abby was working at her computer and listening to music at the same time. The first thing he did was go over and turn the music off. He needed Abby's complete attention.

Abby turned around immediately when she realized her music had been shut off. "Oh, Hey, Gibbs, I was just about to call you. I have your test results."

Gibbs took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for whatever the answer was going to be. "And?"

Abby turned back to the computer and brought up the two sets of DNA. "Okay, so these are the DNA samples you gave me. I analyzed them for a paternity test like you asked. Now two people have to have a certain number of genetic markers in common to link them by blood. Usually for a parent and child it's…

"Abby!" He hadn't meant for it to come out as harsh as it did, but he just couldn't listen to Abby go on about science, not with this. He needed a straight answer. "Please, just tell me, are the samples I gave you from a father and his son?"

"Yes," Abby said, too stunned by the desperation in Gibbs' voice to say anything else.

Gibbs released the breath he didn't know he was holding. It was true. It wasn't just an idea anymore. Tim was his son. The young man he'd taken onto his team from practically a rookie was his son, his flesh and blood.

Gibbs felt a plethora of emotions all at once. The first thing he felt was shock. Despite the fact that he'd suspected that this might be the outcome, he was still shocked to actually know for certain. Next he felt pride. The more he thought about the great agent Tim had become over the years, the prouder he became. Tim came to him as an inexperienced probie with high ambitions. Now he was a full-fledged agent who carried himself with confidence. He'd accomplished a lot in the last six years. Hell, he'd accomplished a lot before then. He was an MIT graduate. He'd accomplished a lot in his life. Gibbs was proud to call him his son. With pride came anger though. Not at Tim, but at his mother. He was angry that he'd missed out on those things and more. Tim was his son. He should've been allowed to know that. He should've been allowed to watch his son grow up. He should have been there to tell Tim how proud he was of the person he became. And if Clare had told him the truth, he would've been.

"Gibbs, are you okay?" Abby asked. She'd never seen him like this before. He looked like his world as he knew it had been turned on its axes.

Gibbs didn't answer. He just walked away. He needed answers. He was going to make Clare explain herself whether she liked it or not.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

By the time Gibbs got to Tim's apartment, the initial shock had worn off. Now anger was the primary emotion he was feeling. Anger at being kept in the dark for over thirty years. He pounded on the door to Tim's apartment.

Clare opened the door a second later. She immediately grew uncomfortable. "Jethro. Tim's not here. He's at work. I would think as his boss you'd know that.

Gibbs brushed past her and into the apartment. "I'm not here to see Tim. I'm here to see you."

"Why would you want to see me?" Clare asked.

"I'm going to ask you a question. Clare, and before you think about lying, you should know that I already know the answer," Gibbs said. It might seem stupid to ask her a question he already knew the answer to, but he wanted to hear her say it.

Clare grew extremely nervous. She didn't like where this was going. She had a pretty good feeling that he was going to ask her about Tim, and that was not a question she wanted to answer. Jethro and Tim could never know that they were father and son. "What's your question?"

"Am I Tim's father?" Gibbs asked.

"Why would you ask that?" Clare asked in an effort to stall. She had to find a way to keep from answering that question. Jethro could not know that Tim was his. She was hoping he was bluffing when he said he already knew.

Gibbs glared at her. He_ hated_ when people answered a question with another question. It was a standard stalling tactic, and he hated being stalled, especially when it came to something as important as this. "Don't stall me, Clare. Tell me the truth. I know it's a foreign concept to you, but you can do it."

"You say you already know the truth. If you think you know so much then why do you need me to tell you?" Clare asked.

"I want to hear it from you. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that I'm Tim's father. Then I want you to tell me how you could do this, to me, to Tim," Gibbs said. The more he thought about it, the more angry he became. Clare's actions didn't just hurt them, they hurt Tim as well. He was the one that would be hurt the most when everything was said and done.

"I haven't done anything to Tim. I love him," Clare said.

"Yeah, so much that you took his father away from him," he said.

"I didn't take anything from him. Tim had a father," Clare said. It wasn't exactly true though. Tim never really had a father. Her husband never could get over his hatred for Jethro. Every time he looked at Tim, he saw the boy's biological father.

Gibbs gave her hardest glare he could muster. That last comment just pissed him off even more. He despised Brad McGee. He'd known him when they were all kids. He was a violent, egotistical jackass who didn't belong near any child. Now he didn't know if he ever hurt Tim, but he did know that he had no business being around his son. "Now is not the time to remind me that you allowed that man to raise my son."

Clare rolled her eyes. "You know, he was never as bad as you made him out to be. He was just misunderstood."

"You know what, I didn't come here to listen to you defend that jackass. I came here for answers. You still haven't said it," Gibbs said.

"Fine!" she yelled. "Fine. Biologically speaking, Tim is your son."

"Why did you do this to me? Why did you do this to Tim?"

"You left us," Clare said.

"No, I left _You_!" Gibbs yelled. "I didn't leave Tim. I didn't even know that Tim existed. I left you because you kept going back and forth between me and McGee. That didn't give you the right to keep my son from me.

"Tim is Brad's son in every way that matters," Clare said. She knew neither Tim or Brad felt that way, but she couldn't have Jethro getting involved now. Their family was stressed enough as it was. This would destroy it. "Please, you have to promise that you won't tell Tim that you are his father."

"You are out of your mind if you think that's going to happen," Gibbs said. There was no way in hell he was going to hide this from Tim. Tim needed to know that there was at least someone that would be honest with him. "Our son is going to know the truth on way or the other. Now either you're going to tell him or I'm going to tell him."

"No, Jethro, you can't! He'll hate me," Clare said. She wasn't deluded. She knew that Tim would never forgive her if he found out the truth.

"If he does, whose fault is that?" Gibbs asked angrily. He was not going to let her manipulate him into continuing this lie. "I mean it, Clare. Either it comes from you or from me."

Clare sighed. She could tell she wasn't going to convince him to keep quiet. "Give me time."

"You have until Monday. Today's Friday, that gives you the weekend to tell him. If I see him Monday morning and he doesn't know, I'm going to tell him myself," Gibbs warned. He then left without another word.


	4. Chapter 4

Several hours later, the NCIS team was getting ready to leave for the night. "Hey, Probie, we're going out for a drink, wanna come?"

"No, not tonight. I'm just going to head home," Tim said tiredly.

"Oh, come on McBoring. One night out won't kill you," Tony said.

"Yes, it will be fun," Ziva added.

"Guys, I'm exhausted. I just want to go home," Tim said.

"Fine, McLame, see you tomorrow," Tony said before heading out. Ziva left a minute later.

Tim was getting ready to leave himself when Gibbs called out to him. "Tim,"

"Yeah, Boss?" Tim asked.

"You know my door's unlocked, right?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah," Tim said slowly. He wasn't exactly sure where this was going.

"It's open to you twenty-four/seven. If you need to, use it," Gibbs said. What was going to happen to Tim this weekend was going to devastate him. Gibbs needed him to know that he could come to him for help when everything came crashing down around him. He just hoped his son would take him up on that.

"Okay," Tim said blankly. That comment had just come out of left field. Why would Gibbs think that he would need help with anything? Tim shook it off. Gibbs probably had his reasons, he always did. He decided to just head home. "See you Monday, Boss," he said before grabbing his stuff and heading out.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked into his apartment and found his mother waiting for him by the door. "Hey, Mom.

"Hey, sweetie. I'm glad you're home. We need to talk," Clare said. She had to tell him now. Jethro had given her the weekend, but she knew if she didn't tell him now, she never would.

Tim groaned. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. It had been a long day, and he was exhausted. "Can this wait until tomorrow? I just want get in the shower and get to bed. It's been a long day.

"No, I'm sorry, Tim, it can't wait. This is really important," Clare said.

Tim started to grow concerned. He'd never seen his mother so serious about telling him something before. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. "What is it? Are you sick or something?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," Clare assured him. "But it will hurt you."

"What is it?" Tim asked.

"Let's go sit down," she suggested.

"No, I think I'd prefer to stand," Tim said. He was not liking where this was going, not one bit.

"Please, don't hate me for this," Clare cried.

"Mom, I don't think there's anything you could ever say to make me hate you," Tim said. He and his mother might not have the best relationship, but he didn't think anything could make him hate her.

"You might change your mind once you hear what I have to say."

"Mom, just say it. Whatever it is, we'll deal with it, but you have to tell me," Tim said.

"Okay, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. Tim, Brad is not your father," Clare finally told him.

Tim did a double take. Out of all the things he thought she might say that wasn't even on the top ten. "What did you say?"

"I'm sorry, Tim."

"Okay, let me just see if I have this straight. You're telling me that the man I thought was my father, your husband is not," Tim said. He couldn't believe this. Something like this couldn't happen, not to him.

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

"Stop saying that!" Tim screamed. He didn't want to hear how sorry she was. He wanted her to tell him that this was some kind of joke. He put his hands behind his head and started pacing. "Oh God, this can't be happening to me."

"Tim, I'm sorry, but there's more," Clare said. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't wait to tell him the rest. She needed to get it all out now.

Tim stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her incredulously. "More? You're telling me it gets worse?"

"Your biological father is someone you know. Someone you care about," Clare said.

Tim felt like he was going to collapse. He couldn't believe this was happening. In mere minutes, everything he'd ever known had been taken away from him. The man he thought was his father wasn't, and now his mother was trying to say who is. Despite the shock and horror he was feeling though, he wanted to know. "Who?"

"Your boss," came her barely audible reply.

"GIBBS! Are you kidding me?" Tim screamed. He wouldn't have believed it possible, but he was now even more shocked than he was before. This was all so unbelievable. It felt like he was trapped in some alternate reality. That was the only explanation he could come up with for being told that Gibbs was his father. "This can't be happening."

"I'm so sorry, sweetie. I never wanted to tell you this," Clare said.

Tim looked at her. "You lied to me. I asked you if the two of you were more than friends, and you said 'no.' You lied right to my face. I guess that shouldn't surprise me though. You've been lying to me my whole life."

"No, that's not true," Clare told him.

"No? So I just imagined growing up thinking one man was my father when in reality it was someone completely different?" Tim asked before he resumed pacing. "Oh God, Gibbs is my father." Even saying the words threw him. He couldn't wrap his head around it.

"Tim, listen, Jethro is your biological father, but Brad is your father in every way that counts," Clare said.

Tim stopped dead in his tracks and looked at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Are you kidding me? You're really going to do this now? You basically turn my entire world inside out and then you go right back to trying to get me to have a relationship with someone who apparently has no connection to me whatsoever."

"I just don't want you to forget what he has done for you," Clare said.

"What he's done for me? And what is that exactly? Insult me? Treat me like trash? Trust me, I'm not liable to forget that anytime soon," Tim said bitterly. It was then that he realized something. That was probably why he was treated so horribly by the man. "Oh my God. It all makes sense now. I never understood it before. I never got how he could treat me and Sarah so differently. He loved Sarah. The sun rose and set on her. I was different. Nothing I ever did was ever good enough for him. No matter how hard I tried to make him proud of me, it never worked. Now I know why. It's because I wasn't his son. I was just some outsider that was forced on him."

"That's not true. No one forced him to be a father to you. He-"

"He was _never_ a father to me-" Tim interrupted. He wasn't going to stand there and let his mother portray his 'father' as a kind hearted person who took him in out of the goodness of his heart.

"He was there at least," Clare told him.

"Is that supposed to be a shot at Gibbs? Because the only reason he wasn't there was because you didn't tell him," Tim said. He didn't even need her to tell him that Gibbs hadn't known about him. He knew the man. Gibbs was a lot of things, but he was not a deadbeat. "You know what's funny? Gibbs has been treating me like a son pretty much since the day I met him. I can't even tell you what it was like the first time he told me I did a good job at something. It was like Christmas. I found myself wishing that it was my father saying it. Well, it was, wasn't it?"

Clare looked away. She wasn't sure what to say to him. She'd never heard this level of pain and anger in her son's voice before.

"How could you do this to me? You watched every day as Da… Brad treated me like something from the bottom of his shoe, and you never said a word," Tim said, hurt laced in his voice. The fact that she'd done that had always hurt him, but now that he knew that it wasn't his father that made it so much worse because she chose to allow a man who had no right to him at all treat him like that.

"I thought I was doing what was best for you," she said.

"You were doing what was best for you. You didn't give me another thought. If you had, you'd of told the truth. You'd have let me have a father that loved me," Tim said.

"I'm sorry."

"You say that as if it's supposed to make a difference to me. It doesn't. You have single handedly ruined my life. No amount of apologies is going to fix that," Tim said.

"No, please don't say that, Tim. I love you," Clare cried.

"You've got funny way of showing it. You know what, I can't do this anymore," Tim said before grabbing his keys and heading for the door. He couldn't stay there any longer. His anger and pain were beginning to consume him. If he didn't leave now, he would end up saying or doing something that he would regret.

"Tim, where are you going?"

"As far away from you as I can get," Tim said before walking out the door and slamming it behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

About an hour after leaving his apartment, Tim found himself entering a bar. He spent an hour driving; trying to wrap his head around everything he'd been told. That didn't seem to help though. While the initial shock had worn off, he was still extremely hurt and angry. He needed something to take that away, so before he knew it, he was pulling into a bar.

"Hey, Probie!" came Tony's voice.

Tim looked over and saw Tony, Ziva, and Abby sitting at a table. He ignored them and went over to a bar stool. He couldn't deal with anybody right now. All he wanted to do was get extremely drunk as fast as possible so he could forget this day. "Give me vodka, straight, and keep them coming," he told the bartender.

"I need your keys," the bartender said before giving him the drink.

Tim took his keys out and slid them over before taking a sip of his drink.

Soon, Tony made his way over. "Hey, Probie, what's going on? I thought you were staying in for another boring night at home.

"Go away, Tony," Tim said before finishing his drink and motioning to be given another. He didn't want to talk to Tony or anyone else. He wanted to be alone to try to forget the lie that was his life.

Tony glanced down at his partner's drink. "Are you drinking straight Vodka?"

"Sure looks like it, doesn't it?" Tim asked as he finished drink number two. "Another!"

"Are you crazy? You barely ever drink. That stuff is going to knock you out within an hour, especially if you don't slow down," Tony said. He couldn't believe Tim was drinking like this. He barely ever saw him drink, and usually it was just beer. Even that got him drunk after like one or two.

"Here's the thing, Tony, I don't care," Tim said as he started working on his third drink.

"McGee, what the hell is going on with you?" Tony asked concerned. This was not like his partner. He didn't usually pour his sorrows in alcohol like this. Something big must have happened.

Tim whipped his head around and looked at Tony sharply. "Don't ever call me that again"

Tony was taken aback. As far as he knew, he didn't call the man anything but by his name. "Okay, what the hell is going on?"

"Just leave me alone," Tim said before turning his attention back to his drink. He was starting to feel a bit tipsy now, but it wasn't nearly enough to make the pain he was feeling go away.

Tony reluctantly left and went back to the table he was sharing with Ziva and Abby.

"What is going on?" asked Ziva.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Tony said as he continued to look at Tim.

"What's wrong with Timmy? He doesn't look so good," Abby said.

"I'm not sure, but it can't be good. He's drinking hard liquor straight," Tony said.

"McGee?" Ziva asked surprised. Anyone that knew him knew that McGee was not a heavy drinker.

Tony nodded. "Oh, and he nearly bit my head off for calling him that," Tony said.

"Calling him what?"

"By his name. He yelled at me for calling him 'McGee,'" Tony said. "Something is definitely going on with him."

"He was not like this before he left the office," Ziva commented. Whatever happened must have happened after he left. "I am going to go talk to him."

"Good luck with that. He isn't very sociable right now," he said.

Ziva nodded and went over to McGee, who was getting drunker by the minute. "Are you alright?"

McGee turned to her and rolled his eyes. "Your turn now?"

"We are worried about you, McGee," Ziva said.

Tim sighed. "Okay, I'm only going to say this one more time, so tell the others. Don't call me that anymore."

"What is going on? Why are you drinking so heavily?" Ziva questioned.

"Trying to forget," Tim slurred. By now he was really drunk, not drunk enough to forget tonight's events though.

"Trying to forget what, McG… Tim?" Ziva asked.

Tim laughed as he took another sip of his drink. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I will believe you, Tim," Ziva said. She would believe anything he told her. As Gibbs had once told her, he didn't know how to lie, and he didn't joke very often either, so whatever he told her, she'd believe.

"I hardly believe it myself," Tim said as he finished his drink and beckoned the bartender for another.

"Tim, you should really stop drinking. You've had enough," Ziva said.

"I'll stop when the pain goes away," Tim said.

"What pain, Tim? What happened to you?" she asked. She truly did not understand what was going through her friend's head right now? Why was he so out of sorts?"

Tim looked down at his drink. "She lied to me. Every single word was a lie."

Ziva just looked at him, hoping that he would go on without any prompting. And he did.

"I don't know what to do now. How am I supposed to face Gibbs?"

"This has something to do with Gibbs?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know what I'm going to say to him. This is all just so messed up," Tim slurred. Even in his drunken haze what happened with his mother, and what would quite possibly happen with Gibbs, his father, was still on his mind. He had no idea what he was going to do.

"Okay, I will be right back," Ziva said before walking away. After listening to Tim ramble, she'd come to the conclusion that he was too drunk to tell her exactly what was going on. The things he said also made it clear that there was only one other person that might now what was going on. She took out her phone and started dialing.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs was in the basement working on his boat. He found that it helped him relax most of the time. It didn't seem to be working this time though. His mind was on Tim the entire time. He was still extremely angry that Tim had been kept from him, and he was worried about how the younger man would take the news. Tim usually kept a cool head in most circumstances, but this was unlike anything he'd had to deal with before. Gibbs just hoped Tim would come to him instead of doing something stupid.

Gibbs was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of his phone ringing. He picked it saw that it was Ziva. He quickly answered. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"_Gibbs, it is Ziva."_

"Well, yeah, Ziva, I saw the caller ID," Gibbs said as he continued with his boat. "What do you need?"

"_It is not what I need, it is what McGee needs," _Ziva said.

Gibbs stopped dead in his tracks. "What happened? Is Tim alright?"

"_He is unharmed, but I do not believe that he is alright," _Ziva said.

"Ziva, stop talking in riddles and tell me what happened to Tim," Gibbs ordered. He was in no mood for this. If something had happened to his son, he needed to know about it.

"_Well, Tony, Abby, and I decided to go have a drink at the bar to unwind. You know the one by the office?"_

"Yeah, I know. Just get to the point," Gibbs said impatiently

"Well, Tim came in about an hour or so later. He was really upset and proceeded to get very drunk," Ziva explained.

_Dammit! _Gibbs thought. This was one of those stupid things he was hoping his son wouldn't do when he found out the truth. "How much has he had?"

"_I do not know the exact amount, but enough to get him drunk very fast. He is saying some strange things too. He is worried about facing you. He says that he does not know what to say to you. I do not know if any of this makes sense to you," _Ziva said.

"It does. I'm on my way. Don't let him leave until I get there, and try to keep him from drinking anymore," Gibbs said before hanging up the phone.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Ziva sat with Tim at the bar. She'd told Tony and Ziva to go on home, that she'd stay until Gibbs got there. She'd managed to get his drink away from him, much to his dismay.

"Come on, Ziva, give it back," Tim said as he reached for his drink.

Ziva moved it out of his reach. "No, you have had enough. You are drunk."

"Not enough," Tim said.

"More than enough, Tim," came a gruff voice from behind them.

Tim didn't need to turn around to know who it was. He knew it was Gibbs.

"It's okay, Ziva, you can go," Gibbs said. "Are you alright to get home."

"Yea, the bartender has called a cab for me," Ziva said before grabbing her stuff and walking towards the exit.

Gibbs took Ziva's vacated seat. "You really think this was a good idea, Tim?"

"You know," Tim said without looking up.

"Yes, son, I know. I found out this morning," Gibbs said.

"That's why you told me to come to you," Tim slurred. Even in his drunken haze he could figure that much out.

"I wish you had come to me," Gibbs said. He wasn't trying to berate him or anything. He just wished that Tim had come to him instead of going to a bar to get hammered.

"I just wanted it all to go away," he said.

"Did it work?" Gibbs asked. He already knew the answer of course, but he wanted to see what Tim would say.

"It might if I keep trying," Tim said.

"Not gonna happen, Tim," Gibbs said before rising to his feet and then helping Tim do the same. "Come on, I'm taking you home."

"Can't go home. She's there," Tim Slurred as Gibbs helped him off the bar stool.

"No, I'm taking you home with me," Gibbs said as he put his son's arm around him to help him walk.

"Why'd she do this to me? Why'd she lie to me for so long?" Tim asked.

"I wish I knew, son. I wish I knew," Gibbs said as the two of them walked out of the bar.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Tim woke up in absolute agony. His head felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to it. He brought his hand to his head and slowly opened his eyes. When he did, he realized that he wasn't in his bedroom. He didn't know where he was, but it definitely wasn't his apartment.

Tim shot up and his eyes went wide when he finally remembered the previous day's events. After walking out on his mother, he'd gone to the bar, where he proceeded to get extremely drunk. Then at some point, Gibbs had come to pick him up. "Oh God." That was not how he wanted his first conversation with Gibbs after finding out the truth to go. He could only imagine what Gibbs thought of him now.

Tim brought his hand to his head once more. It was really pounding.

"Head hurt, Tim?" Gibbs asked from the doorway.

Tim immediately looked towards the doorway when he heard Gibbs' voice. "Hi," he said awkwardly.

"Hey," Gibbs said as he walking further into the room carrying a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water.

"Oh, thanks," Tim said before happily taking what was offered. He quickly took a couple of aspirin and downed them with water. He then looked at Gibbs awkwardly. "I…I'm sorry."

"For what?" Gibbs asked. As far as he was concerned, Tim didn't have anything to be sorry about.

"Last night wasn't exactly one of my finer moments," Tim said.

Gibbs went over and sat next to Tim. "Well, I can't exactly say I loved your choice for coping, but I understand it."

"You know, I don't usually do things like that. I don't usually use alcohol to alleviate pain, but I was hurt, I was pissed off, and I wanted it all to go away," Tim explained.

"And did it?" Gibbs asked.

"No, not really," Tim said. "The only thing it did was take away my clarity. I was still hurt and angry. I was just drunk too."

"Why didn't you come to me?" Gibbs asked. There was no anger in his voice, just curiosity.

"Because I didn't know what to say to you. I still don't," Tim replied.

Gibbs nodded. He could understand that. He wasn't exactly sure what to say or either. This was whole new territory to him. "I think we should start by saying it out loud. I'm your father, Tim."

Tim couldn't believe how those four words affected him. It was like they'd made it real. Yes, he knew it was the truth, but hearing Gibbs say them solidified it. "It's unbelievable. How long have you known?"

"I haven't known the whole time," Gibbs said. He didn't want his son thinking he'd left him.

"I know that. I know you would never abandon me. You I trust," Tim said. He didn't trust his mother any further than he could throw her, but he trusted Gibbs. Gibbs had always been honest with him. He'd never once lied to him.

"That's good," Gibbs said. He was glad that Tim trusted him. He needed someone he could trust. "I suspected the second I found out Clare was your mother. The timing added up, not to mention that she was acting really suspicious.

"What happened?"

Gibbs knew right away what Tim was referring to. He wanted to know what happened to make Gibbs his father. He wasn't sure he should tell Tim though. "I don't want you to think badly about your mother," he said. As angry as he was at Clare, he wouldn't do what she did. He wouldn't try to take Tim away from her.

"Trust me; I couldn't think any worse of her than I already do."

He couldn't argue with that. Nothing was worse than the pain Clare had already caused their son. Besides, Tim needed to know that he had at least one parent willing to be honest with him. "I met your mother when I was in high school. We dated for a while, but she was more interested in Brad McGee."

"Did you love her?" asked Tim.

Gibbs sighed. He wasn't exactly sure how to answer that question. "I don't know if I can say I loved her, but I cared about her a lot. So much that I thought that our relationship would last."

"She wanted Da… Brad though," McGee said. He wasn't surprised by that. His mother had always put Brad ahead of everyone else, even him.

"I'm going to be honest with you, Tim. I don't like Brad McGee. I think he's an arrogant, sanctimonious little bastard, and it pisses me off that he was allowed anywhere near you," Gibbs said. Every time he thought about that man raising his son, the angrier he became.

Tim couldn't argue with Gibbs assessment. He felt the same way. Brad had treated him like crap his entire life. "Trust me, you're not offending me."

Gibbs looked at him. He had a feeling that Clare was lying when she tried to claim that Brad McGee was the perfect father to his son. "You didn't like him?"

"I loved him for years. I used to do everything I could think of to get on his good side. It never worked though. All he ever saw me as was a horrible mistake," Tim said as he looked down. As much as he wanted to believe he was over it, the way Brad treated him still got to him.

Gibbs was furious when he heard that. What gave that bastard the right to treat his son like he was a burden? Tim was a wonderful person. Anyone would be damn lucky to have him for a son. "What did he do?"

"I really don't want to talk about it right now. Can we just drop it?" McGee asked. He didn't like talking about how he grew up. Also, if Gibbs knew the extent to how he was treated by Brad, Gibbs would probably end up in jail for murder.

Gibbs hesitated. He really didn't want to drop it. He wanted the truth about how his son was treated. However, this whole thing was new to them. They needed to get to know each other better before they got into all of that. "Okay. We can drop it." _For now_, he added to himself. "Why don't you get some rest? You're probably still not feeling well after last night."

"Here?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. I told you, you're welcome to stay here anytime," he said.

Tim nodded gratefully. It probably was better if he stayed there for a little while. He couldn't go home right now. His mother was still there, and right now, he couldn't even look at her.

"Alright, I'll leave you alone. We'll talk some more later," Gibbs said before getting up and leaving the room.


	7. Chapter 7

A few hours later, Tim made it down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he found Gibbs cooking over the stove. "I didn't know you cooked."

Gibbs looked over at him. "You learn something new every day, Tim."

Tim snorted. That was certainly true nowadays. "Yeah, I'm getting that."

"Feeling any better?" Gibbs asked.

"My hangover's gone if that's what you mean," Tim said. He wasn't even remotely alright with anything else.

"That's what I meant," Gibbs said as took the macaroni he'd just finished making and put it in the sink to drain. "You like pasta, Tim?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Tim said.

"So have you talked to your mother?" Gibbs asked.

"No. She's called me about a hundred times, but I can't bring myself to pick up the phone," Tim said. He didn't want to talk to his mother. The way he was feeling right now, he didn't want to have anything to do with her.

"Don't wanna say something you'll regret?" he asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure I won't regret anything I might say to her. I just don't really have much more to say to her. I'm not sure I ever will again," Tim said.

"You don't think you can forgive her?" Gibbs asked. That unsettled him a little. He knew that Clare did was horrible, but at the end of the day, she was still his mother.

"I don't know. Right now with how I'm feeling, it's pretty doubtful," Tim said. After everything he found out yesterday, eh wasn't sure he could ever forgive his mother. It wasn't just that she'd lied to him,, it was also the fact that she'd sat by and watched while Brad treated him like garbage. She'd never said one thing to defend him. Before it was different. He'd thought the man was his father. He could delude himself into believing that she couldn't stop him. That pretense was gone now. Brad wasn't his father. He had no legal or biological right to be near him. His mother could've stopped him anytime she wanted. The simple fact was that she'd chosen her husband over him. "Can you forgive her?

Gibbs hesitated in answering. He didn't want his answer to shape Tim's decision. "No. But she's not my mother. And you're not a child so I don't really have to have anything to do with her. But you? She'll always be your mother. You can't change that.

"Yeah, my mother who lied to be every day of my life. My mother who only told me the truth because you forced her to," Tim said. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that Gibbs must have made his mother to him the truth.

"She told you that?" Gibbs asked surprised. He couldn't see Clare offering up that information. She would want Tim to think that she told him willingly.

"No, she didn't have to. I know her. There's no way she would've told me on her own. I also know you, and there's no way you'd allow her to continue to lie to me. Am I wrong?" he asked.

Gibbs shook his head. "No. I told her that if she didn't tell you by Monday, I would."

Tim nodded. "I figured as much. I knew she didn't just offer it up because she wanted to be honest with me. Especially since she lied right to my face the night before."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not an idiot. I saw the way the two of you were with each other at the office that day. I knew it was possible that it wasn't just friendship. I never guessed that you would turn out to be my father though," Tim said. He had no inkling that Gibbs would end up being his father. He'd only asked his mother about their relationship because he didn't want things to be awkward for himself and Gibbs around the office. "Come to think of it, that's probably why I believed her right away when she told me you were only friends. Why would she lie, right?"

"You see, this is why I hate lying. It only makes things worse. It's worse than the offense itself because not only have you hurt someone, but you've lost all credibility," Gibbs said. He hated liars. They showed a complete lack of respect for the person they lied to.

"Well, you're right about that. Even if I could forgive her, I con never trust her again," Tim said. Even before this he hadn't trusted his mother all that much. He'd trusted Gibbs more, and at the time, he hadn't known that the man was his father.

"I'm sorry, son. You shouldn't have to suffer for the mistakes your parent's make," Gibbs said. He hated that Tim was paying for Clare's choice to lie to him.

Tim couldn't help but smirk. "You're breaking your own rules."

Gibbs was confused at first, but rolled his eyes when he realized what Tim was talking about. "It's not a sign of weakness with family. Besides, they're my rules. I can break them all I want.

Tim laughed for the first time since finding out the truth. Then his phone began to ring. He took it out and saw that it was his sister. "It's Sarah. I'll be right back."

"Take your time. I'll finish up in here," Gibbs said.

Tim nodded and made his way into the living room. He then answered his phone. "Hello?"

"_Tim, where are you? Mom and Dad are freaking out," _came Sarah's voice.

"Mom called you?" Tim asked as he tried to keep the anger he was feeling out of his voice. He was angry that his mother had gone to his sister. She had no right to use Sarah to try to get to him. "What did she say to you?"

"_Not much, just that you guys got into a huge fight and that you stormed out. What happened? Where are you?" _Sarah asked.

"I'm at my bo… My fa… I'm at Gibbs' place," Tim finally said after stammering with what he should be calling Gibbs.

"_Your boss? Why? What happened with you and Mom? Did you guys fight about Dad?" _Sarah asked.

"Among other things," Tim said. He didn't' want to explain everything to her over the phone.

"_Okay, I don't know what happened, but Mom and Dad are not happy. Mom is worried about you, and Dad is pissed," _she said.

Tim was taken aback by the news of his father. His mother must have called him or something, which really pissed him off. She had no right to involve him in this. What did it have to do with him anyway? It's not like he gave a damn. "Mom talked to Dad?"

"_Apparently, and he's really mad at you,"_ Sarah said.

"What else is new?" Tim asked. Brad was always pissed at him. He'd made a career out of telling Tim how much of a disappointment he was to him.

"_That he's on his way here."_

Tim stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

"_Dad's coming here. He says he wants to have a few words with you,"_ Sarah told him.

Tim started to stress. The last thing he wanted was for that bastard to come here. He was having enough trouble dealing with all this already. Brad coming would just make that so much worse.

Tim looked into the kitchen Gibbs was still working. It seemed that both his fathers were going to come face to face very soon. This would not end will.


	8. Chapter 8

The next day, Gibbs walked downstairs and found Tim getting ready to leave. "You leaving?"

"Yeah, I need to go talk to Sarah. I also have to go to my place to pick up some things. Then if it's alright, I was thinking of coming back here," Tim said. He wasn't ready to go back to his apartment yet. Not just because his mother was still there, but also because he didn't trust himself not to do something stupid like get drunk again if he was alone.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, of course. I told you, you are welcome here anytime."

"Thanks," Tim said before standing up. "I better do this before I lose my nerve."

"You don't think Sarah is going to take it well?" Gibbs asked.

"I have no idea how she's going to take it," Tim said. The truth was, he was more worried about what was going to happen when he got to his apartment than about Sarah. Brad was probably at the house now, and he was definitely not looking forward to that. He wasn't going to tell Gibbs that that was what he was worried about though. He knew things would get ugly if he did. He was hoping he could just get rid of the man. "I better go."

"See you later," Gibbs said as Tim walked towards the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim made it to Sarah's dorm room and knocked on the door. It was opened a second later by Sarah.

"Good, you're here. Now you can tell me what the hell is going on," Sarah said.

"It's good to see you too, Sarah," Tim quipped.

Sarah sighed. "Sorry, it's just that Mom and Dad have been blowing up my phone for the last two days, and neither of them will tell me what is going on."

Tim snorted as he walked inside. "Well, they've never been honest with us before. Why would they start now?"

Sarah closed the door behind her brother. "Okay, what's going on, Tim? Is everything alright?"

Tim sat down in the chair in front of his sister's desk. "No, everything's not alright. It's been a rough couple of days."

A concerned Sarah sat down on the edge of her bed. "What happened?"

"I have no idea how you're going to take this. I know I certainly didn't respond will to it," Tim said.

"Just tell me," she said.

"It turns out that Dad is not really my father," Tim said.

Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "What? Tim, that's crazy. Who fed you that line of bull."

"Mom."

"Mom told you that Dad is not really your father?" Sarah asked in disbelief. This was like some weird episode of the Twilight Zone. Though when she really thought about it, it made a little bit of sense. She'd always wondered what made her father treat her brother so horribly.

"Yep. She told me the other night. Of course she only did it because she knew I was going to find out anyway," Tim said bitterly. It irritated him that the time his mother could be honest with him was when she was forced.

"Okay, so if Dad's not your father, who is?" Sarah asked. She was still totally shocked by all of this, but she did wonder who Tim's father was.

"My boss," he said.

"You're kidding," Sarah said. He had to be kidding. This was all too weird to be true.

"Not even remotely. Brad McGee isn't my father, Gibbs is," Tim said.

"Tim this like something out of the movies. Things like this don't happen," Sarah said.

"Well, apparently they do. I had a hard time believing it myself, but it's real. Mom made my entire life a lie," Tim said. It pissed him off to think about it. "What's worse is that she just sat back and let Da… Brad treat me with nothing but content."

"So this is why is why Dad treated you the way he did."

Tim nodded. "Because I wasn't his son."

"This is unbelievable. Where's your head at?" Sarah asked. She knew her brother, and she knew he couldn't be taking this well.

"My head is beginning to wrap itself around this. The shock has worn off. Now I'm stuck with pain and anger, and I don't know how to get rid of those feelings," Tim said.

"I don't think you're going to be able to anytime soon. It's gotta be hard to find out that everything you ever knew was a lie," Sarah said.

"You don't know the half of it. I lost it the other night. I ended up in a bar," he told her.

"_You?_" Sarah asked surprised. He barely ever drank. It certainly wasn't like him to try to forget his problems in a bottle.

Tim nodded. "I was really upset. I was driving around for almost an hour before I finally ended up there. I wanted to forget everything that I'd just been told. Luckily, my colleagues were there and they called Gibbs. He took me back to his place."

"So he knows," Sarah guessed.

"Yeah, he knows. He found out that morning," Tim said.

"I just can't believe it. We don't have the same father," Sarah said. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. Her brother had a whole other family. She had to wonder if this would change anything between them.

Tim could tell what his sister was thinking. "Sarah, you're still my sister. No matter what happens, that's never going to change."

Sarah ad to admit she was glad to hear that. It was already amazing that Tim didn't hate her for the simple fact that their… her father treated her much better. She was afraid he might just want to walk away from all of them with this new knowledge. "Thanks, big brother."

Tim stood up. "I better go. I gotta go to my place to get a few things."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked confused. Why would her brother have to grab anything from his apartment.

"Mom's there. I walked out on her the other night. I mean I could kick her out, and believe me, I've thought about it, but it doesn't really matter. I'm still really, really upset, and I don't think it's best for me to be alone right no. So I'm going to stay with Gibbs for a little while," Tim explained.

"So you're just going to go get some things to take back to his place?" Sarah asked.

Tim nodded.

"You do know that Dad's probably at your place by now, right?" Sarah asked. Her father had left the night before, so he was likely there by now.

"I know," he said.

Sarah stood up. "I'm coming with you." She wasn't going to let her brother face her father alone. She knew from experience that meetings between her father and brother never went well. Away from him Tim usually did pretty well, but when he was with her father, it was like he turned back into a little kid who was faced with his father's rejection. She needed to be there for him when that happened.

Tim sighed. He should've seen this coming. Sarah was always trying to protect him from Brad's verbal abuse. "You don't have to do that, Sarah. I'll be fine."

"Tim, I'm either going with you or I'm following you. It's up to you," Sarah said.

"Let's go," Tim finally relented. He should've known this would end up happening. Sarah was very stubborn

Sarah quickly grabbed her purse and followed her brother out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim and Sarah stopped right outside his apartment. Now that they were there, Tim wasn't sure he wanted to go in. He knew from experience that this wouldn't go very well.

"You okay, big brother," Sarah asked.

"Yeah, I'm just not looking forward to this," Tim said before opening the front door and walking inside. He was immediately confronted to Brad, who was walking towards him. Tim instinctively took a step back. Brad McGee was a very intimidating to Tim. Not just because he was a Lieutenant in the Navy, but also because he'd been bullying Tim his whole life.

"Well, what do we have here? You done being a worthless coward?" Brad asked.

"Dad, stop," Sarah said.

"I'm not a coward," Tim said weakly. He felt sick to his stomach. This wasn't supposed to happen. He was supposed to be able to defend himself this time. This man wasn't his father. He should be able to stand up to him.

"Sure you are. You always were. When the going gets tough, you run. You know, you had your mother worried half to death. Not that you're worthy of her suffering. Why she doesn't just wash her hands of you," Brad said hatefully.

Tim felt himself once again reverting back to a child, who was being trashed by his father. He wanted to fight back, but he didn't know how. He looked over at his mother and silently begged her to help him. She didn't though. She never did. She just stood there and watched.

"Dad, stop, leave him alone!" Sarah yelled.

"Sarah, you stay out of this. This is between your worthless brother and myself," Brad said before turning back to Tim. "So I hear you finally know that that bastard Gibbs is your father. You know, I almost feel sorry for him. He's stuck with a pathetic weakling like you for a son."

"Stop," Tim begged. This was not going the way he hoped. It never did. He told himself ever time that he was going to stand up to Brad. If never worked though. He seemed to crack every single time. It didn't seem to matter that he was a grown man. Every time he was around this man, it was like he was a little kid again.

Meanwhile, Sarah decided that the best way to help her brother was to help him get some things together. She couldn't stop her father from ripping into Tim, but she could help to get them out of there as soon as possible. She quickly disappeared into the bedroom to get some cloths for her brother.

"Do you really think he gives a damn about you?" Brad asked scathingly. "Who would care about you? You're pathetic. You're nothing but a living breathing failure. Gibbs will learn that, just like I did."

"That's not true," Tim said timidly. In his head he knew that Brad was just trying to get to him, that Gibbs would never actually think those things, but there was a small part of him that couldn't help but think Brad might be right. Every time he was in the same room with this man, all his self-esteem went out the window.

Brad had a laugh at Tim's expense. "You don't think so? We'll see, won't we? I personally think he'll see you for what you are. A worthless mistake that should've been aborted."

"Okay, stop this. We're leaving," Sarah said as she came back out with a bag of her brother's things. "Come on, Tim."

"Yes, runaway. Prove that you really are just a pathetic little coward."

Sarah pulled her brother away. "Come on,"

Tim wordlessly allowed his sister to pull him out the door by the arm.


	9. Chapter 9

Sarah pulled her brother's car into Agent Gibbs' driveway. After the scene at his apartment, he was in no shape to drive, so she had him get in the passenger seat. She turned off the engine and turned to her brother, who still looked incredibly stricken, as he always did right after a round with her father. "Tim?"

Tim didn't look at her. He just continued to stare out the window. "Why do I let him do this to me, Sarah? Why am I incapable of standing up to him? Maybe he's right. Maybe I am weak."

Sarah sighed. This happened every single time. Every time Tim and her father had one of their 'chats,' Tim walked away feeling low and worthless. It made her want to go back there and throttle the man. It wasn't right. Tim didn't deserve this. "Please don't do this to yourself, Tim. You are not weak. If anyone is weak, it's him. He gets off on causing you pain. What kind of man does that?"

"But it shouldn't work. He shouldn't be able to get to me like this anymore. He's not my father," Tim said.

"A fact you've known for exactly two days. He's been doing this to you your whole life. You're not going to suddenly be immune to it because you find out that he's not your father," Sarah said.

"He shouldn't be able to do this to me. I'm an adult now. He shouldn't be able to make me feel like I'm twelve again. I must be really pathetic to let him," Tim said. He felt just as weak and stupid as Brad always told him he was. He must be to let Brad do this to him.

"You are not pathetic. He's just been doing this to you for so long that you don't know how to get out from under him. But that's not your fault, Tim. That's the result of what he's done to you over the years. It's part of the pain he's caused you," Sarah explained.

"How do I make it go away?" he asked, his voice cracking.

"I don't know. Right now I think we just need to get you inside," Sarah said as she opened her car door.

"I can't go in there. I can't let Gibbs see me like this," Tim said. He didn't want Gibbs to see what he was reduced to after a conversation with Brad McGee. He felt like he was exactly what Brad said he was. A pathetic little weakling. He didn't want Gibbs to see that. If he did, he might agree.

"Look, I don't know Agent Gibbs that well, but from what I have seen of him, he seems like a decent guy. He's not going to think any less of you because you have a hard time with emotional abuse. No matter how much Dad tries to convince you otherwise," Sarah said. She'd heard what her father had said to Tim once she left the room. He'd prayed on Tim's biggest fear. Being rejected by another parent.

"You heard what he said, didn't you?" Tim asked.

"You mean about your father possibly turning his back on you? Yeah I heard him. You can't listen to him, Tim. He just said that to get to you. It obviously worked," Sarah said. "Now, come on, let's get you inside.

Tim slowly opened his door and stepped out of the car. Sarah did the same, and they began walking towards the front door. "How are you going to get back to school? You drove my car here," Tim said.

"I'll figure it out. I'll take a cab or something," Sarah said.

"You shouldn't have to do that. Come on, I'll drive you," Tim said as he tried to head back to the car.

Sarah grabbed him by the arm. "No, you're in no condition to drive. I'll get back somehow. Now come on, let's go."

Tim sighed and let her lead him towards the house. Once at the door, he opened it and stepped inside.

Gibbs was walking up from the basement just as Tim and Sarah walked in. He immediately took in the sight of his son. He didn't look great. Something had happened to cause him even more pain. "Are you alright, Tim?"

"I'm fine," Tim said. He tried with all his might to appear to be alright. "I'm just going to go put this stuff away," he said before heading upstairs.

Once her brother was out of view, Sarah turned to Gibbs. "He's not okay."

Gibbs motioned for her to sit down on the couch. She immediately did so, and Gibbs sat down in a nearby chair. "What the hell happened?"

"He had a run-in with my father. Those never end well," Sarah said.

"Your father's in town?" Gibbs asked. He tried to keep the level of disgust he was feeling out of his voice, but he was finding it extremely difficult.

"Yeah, he was at Tim's apartment with my mother when we got there. He and Tim got into it," Sarah said. That was the understatement of the century, but she wasn't sure if she should tell him how bad it really got.

"Why do I get the feeling there's more to it than that?" Gibbs asked. He could tell that she was holding something back. He knew when someone was trying to keep something from him. Not to mention the fact that Tim's face when they came in said that it was more than him and McGee getting into it.

Sarah sighed. She didn't feel she had any choice but to tell him. She knew Tim might not be happy that she was about to tell Gibbs his life story, but if Gibbs was going to help Tim, he needed to know everything. "My father and Tim have a hostile relationship to say the least."

"Yeah, I know that much. I know he doesn't treat Tim well," Gibbs said. He really pissed him off that Tim was treated badly by anyone. He had a feeling by the time this conversation was over.

"That's an understatement. Things get bad. By the time my father's done with him, Tim is a wreck. He loses every ounce of self-esteem he has every time my father gets done with him," Sarah said.

"What did he do to my son?" Gibbs demanded. He could feel rage continue to build inside of him as he listened to Sarah explain what Tim had been put through.

"He belittled him. He treated him like garbage. My father tried to destroy everything good Tim ever got in his life, even you," Sarah said.

"What does that mean?" Gibbs asked. He failed to see what he had to do with it.

"My father said some pretty horrible things to Tim today. He prayed on his biggest fear. Rejection," Sarah told him.

"Tim's afraid of being rejected by me?" asked a horrified Gibbs. He couldn't believe that his son would thing he could ever walk away from him.

Sarah could tell what Gibbs was thinking. "It's nothing you did, Agent Gibbs. It's just that he's spent his whole life dealing with rejection. It expects it everywhere. And my father exploited that today."

"What did he do?" Gibbs asked gritting his teeth. He wanted to know exactly what happened. That way he could kill the bastard properly.

"He did what he always does. He called Tim a worthless coward. He then told him how he wasn't worth my mother's love. Then he said…" She trailed off as she remembered the last thing her father said to Tim before she entered the room. If she repeated that, she was quite sure that no one would ever find her father's body.

"Finish it," Gibbs said. He was already beyond angry. He wanted to know the rest.

"He said that you would one day see that Tim was a worthless mistake that should've been aborted," Sarah told him.

That did it. That made Gibbs nearly explode with anger. He wanted to grab McGee and rip him to shreds. And that was exactly what he intended to do. The bastard would pay for saying such a vile thing to his son. He jumped up from his seat and grabbed his keys and jacket. "Do me a favor and stay with Tim until I get back." He was then out the door before the young girl could respond.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs stalked through Tim's apartment building. He was going beat the living daylights out of Brad McGee. No one got away with hurting one of his kids. He stormed through the apartment and found McGee sitting in a chair in the kitchen. He picked him up by his shirt and punched him right in the face. Then he pulled him up and punched him in the stomach multiple times. He then pulled him up again and slammed him against the table before pulling an arm behind his back.

"Jethro, what are you doing?" Clare asked as she came into the room.

Gibbs ignored him and focused on his son's abuser. "You listen to me, you son of a bitch. You're hurt my son for the last time!

"Jethro, stop this. Let him go!" Clare pleaded.

Gibbs gave her the nastiest glare he could muster. "No! You watch this bastard cause our son pain, now you can watch me cause him some." He had no sympathy for this woman. She'd allowed this happen. There was no doubt in his mind that Clare knew what her worthless husband did to Tim, and did nothing to stop him.

"Get your hands off me, you bastard!" Brad ordered.

Gibbs responded by slamming the man's head into the table. "Listen up, McGee, because I'm only going to say this once. You stay the hell away from my son. You're done hurting him. You come anywhere near him again, I will make sure that there is nothing left to identify, Understand?"

Brad was silent until he felt Gibbs twist his wrist. "Yeah."

Gibbs pulled him up and pushed him away from him. He then rounded on Clare. "That goes for you too. You stay the hell away from Tim."

"I'm his mother," Clare said defensively.

"No, you're not. No mother would do what you've done. You don't deserve to be called his mother. The only thing you are is the person who gave birth to him and then allowed him to be abused.

"Tim was not abused. Brad never laid a hand on him," Clare said.

"No, he just belittled him until he destroyed his self-esteem, which for your information is worse. And you? You're the worst of all. You're supposed to be his mother. You're supposed to protect him from people like him," Gibbs said angrily. He hated Brad McGee for the things he'd done to Tim, but it was Clare that did the most damage. By not standing up for him, she'd shown Tim that McGee was right about him.

"Leave her alone, Gibbs. It's not her fault that she birthed such a pathetic specimen," Brad said.

Gibbs whirled around and delivered another swift punch to the man's jaw. He wasn't going to allow this guy to badmouth Tim for another minute. "Tim is a hundred times the man you'll ever be. If anyone's pathetic it's you. You took out a high school grudge on a little boy. That is truly pathetic. You wanna take me on, you do it directly. Though that's not your style, is it? You're too much of a coward to come after me personally. You had to do it through an innocent kid. That's why you agreed to raise him, isn't it? You decided to verbally abuse my son to stick it to me. Maybe one day you'd get to see how I'd respond. Well, you got you're wish. This is my response: Come near my son again, I'll kill you."

After making his point, Gibbs made his way to the door. He turned back at the last second. "By the way, you two have until morning to vacate Tim's apartment. If you're not gone by then, I'll have you arrested." He then walked out without another word.


	10. Chapter 10

After taking a quick shower, Tim made his way downstairs. He was still upset, but it didn't show as much, so he was pretty sure he'd be able to face Gibbs. When he got downstairs, he found Sarah sitting on the couch. "Hey. I thought you would have left by now."

"Without saying goodbye? Nah," Sarah said.

Tim looked around for Gibbs. The man wasn't anywhere in sight. "Where's Gibbs? In the basement?"

"Uh, not exactly," Sarah said.

"Well, where is he?" asked Tim.

"He went out for a minute," Sarah said as she avoided her brother's eyes.

Tim eyed his sister suspiciously. He knew when Sarah was hiding something, and right now was definitely one of those times. "Where exactly did he go, Sarah?"

"To go see somebody."

"Who?" Tim asked exasperatedly.

"Dad?" Sarah said quietly.

"You told him? Why would you do that?" asked a horrified Tim. He didn't want Gibbs to know about this. The last thing he wanted was for his new father to hear about what coward he was.

"I had to, Tim. He needed to know so that he could help you," Sarah said.

"I didn't want him to know, Sarah. The last thing I need is another father looking at me like I'm weak," Tim said.

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Gibbs walking through the door.

Tim did everything to avoid Gibbs' gaze when he came into the room. He'd felt insecure before, but now that Gibbs knew, he felt even worse.

Sarah looked between her brother and his father. It was clear that they needed to talk. "Okay, I'm going to get out of your hair now. I'll just call a cab."

"No, it's late. You stay here tonight. We'll get you back in the morning," Gibbs said.

"No, that's okay. I'll be fine to just take a cab back now," Sarah said.

Gibbs gave the young woman who of his world famous stares that pretty much said, 'you're staying and that's that.'

Sarah fidgeted under the man's gaze. She'd never seen that look before, but she was pretty sure she knew what it meant. "Or I could stay for the night.

Gibbs grinned. It still had it. "Great. Take the first room on the right."

Sarah nodded and headed upstairs.

Tim started to follow his sister up the stairs, but Gibbs grabbed him lightly by the arm. "We need to talk, Tim."

Tim started to get nervous. He didn't want to talk to Gibbs right now. He knew exactly what Gibbs wanted to talk about, and Tim didn't want any part of it. He didn't' want Gibbs to see him that vulnerable. "Can't this wait?"

"No," Gibbs said. He wasn't going to let it go this time. They were going to talk and they were going to do it now. Tim needed to get this off his chest, and Gibbs needed him to know that he wasn't going anywhere. He was going to show his son what a father was supposed to do.

Tim sighed and reluctantly allowed Gibbs to lead him to the couch where they both sat down. Tim looked down at his shoes. He couldn't bring himself to look at Gibbs. He knew that he would lose it.

"Look at me, Tim," Gibbs said. He needed Tim to be looking at him while they had this conversation. Only them would Tim believe what he was about to say to him.

Tim didn't comply at first. First, he took a couple of deep breaths to try to regain control of his emotions. Finally after a few moments, he picked his head up and looked at Gibbs.

"Why didn't you come to me, Tim? You should've come to me a long time ago. I would've helped you," Gibbs said. Son or no son, he would've protected Tim from McGee long ago if he'd known.

"What are you talking about? I wasn't your son then. At least not that either of us knew," Tim said.

"It doesn't matter. I would've helped you. I wouldn't have let him treat you that way," Gibbs said.

"I couldn't come to you. I couldn't have you see what a failure I was," Tim said.

"Hey! You are not a failure," Gibbs said firmly. "I don't ever want to hear you call yourself that again. I'm not going to let McGee say that about you, and I'm certainly not going to let you say it about yourself."

"I can't help it. When I'm in the same room with him, I fall apart. It doesn't seem to matter that I'm an adult, or that he's not really my father. I can't seem to stop letting him get to me," Tim said. He hated that he did that. He just wished he could find a way to defend himself.

"That's because he's been doing it to you your whole life. He's convinced you that everything he's told you is the truth. It's not, but that's what you believe," he said.

Tim looked away. Gibbs was right. A part of him did believe that what Brad told him was the truth. Another part him knew that it wasn't, but that part of his brain just didn't seem to work properly. "Yeah, I do. I know I shouldn't, but I do. What's worse is that I'm afraid that one day you're going to think that too."

"Okay, that we need to deal with right now. I need to make you understand that that is _never_ going to happen. You are my son. I will never turn my back on you I will never treat you the way that bastard does. That' not a father. A father is supposed to love his kids no matter what. He's supposed to protect them. I will never hurt you like he has, and I will never allow anyone else to do it. Anyone who does will have to answer to me," Gibbs said.

"But I shouldn't need you to protect me. I should be able to do that myself," said a frustrated Tim. He didn't understand why he let this happen. He should be able to stop Brad from hurting someone like this.

"Old habits are hard to break. When someone tells you something long enough, especially when it's a parental figure, you start to believe it. You emotionally abused your whole life. No one ever sat you down and told you and told you that he was wrong. You were treated that way, and nobody ever tried to defend you," Gibbs said. Saying all that brought the anger he had for Clare back. He was furious with her for not defending Tim. She was supposed to be his mother. It was no wonder Tim felt so poorly about himself. What's a kid like Tim supposed to infer when his own mother won't lift a finger to defend him. "That ends tonight though. I am going to make sure you know what a wonderful person you are. I don't care if I have to say it every day for the rest of my life. I _will_ get that through your head.

Tim wasn't sure how to feel about all this. Part of him did believe Gibbs. He knew the man well enough to know that he didn't say things he didn't mean. There was another part of him that still believed Brad though. He couldn't help it. "Okay, I think I've had as much as I can take tonight."

Gibbs nodded towards the stairs. He could tell that Tim couldn't take any more talk like this tonight. "Go ahead."

Tim immediately got up and headed for the stairs.

"Tim."

Tim turned to face Gibbs. "Yeah?"

"This conversation is far from over," Gibbs said. He meant what he said. He would have this conversation as many times as it took for Tim to believe his words.

Tim nodded and headed up the stairs.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Tim walked into the kitchen, where he found Gibbs with his first cup of coffee of the day. "Morning," Tim said as he poured his own cup of coffee.

"You're ready early," Gibbs commented. Tim was already dressed and ready for work when he didn't need to be there for another hour and a half.

"I have to take Sarah home," Tim said. "Um, what exactly are we telling the others," he asked. He wondered if they were going to tell the rest of the team the truth. He wasn't sure if Gibbs even wanted anyone to know that he was his son.

"That's up to you. I have no problem telling the world, but if you're not ready, we'll wait," Gibbs told him. He needed Tim to know that he was not ashamed to tell everyone the truth, but that he wouldn't unless he wanted it. "I do have to tell the director though.

Tim nodded his head. Then his eyes widened as he realized what this could mean for his future on Gibbs' team. "Is he going to transfer me?"

Gibbs shrugged his shoulders. "If he wants to shoot me and step over my dead body to do it, sure. Because that's the only way you're going anywhere."

Tim laughed slightly. That was actually reassuring. Gibbs seemed determined to keep him on the team, and Gibbs usually got what he wanted.

At that moment, Sarah dragged herself into the room. She didn't look happy to be up so early.

"Good morning," Tim said.

"Shut up and give me that," Sarah said before grabbing the cup of coffee out of her brother's hand.

"Hey!" Tim protested.

"Not a morning person, Sarah?" asked an amused Gibbs.

"Are you kidding? I had to literally drag her out of bed," Tim said.

"It's 7am. The only things up right now are the roosters," Sarah said as took a sip of the coffee.

"We're up," Gibbs pointed out.

"Correction, the roosters and NCIS agents."

"Come on, let's get you back," Tim said as he heading out of the kitchen.

"I'll be right there," Sarah called to him before turning to Gibbs. "Tell me he's going to be okay."

"Oh, he'll be okay. Not today or tomorrow, but one day. I'll make sure of it," Gibbs assured him.

Sarah smiled. This was what her brother needed. Someone would do whatever it took to help him. Gibbs was definitely that person. Sarah could already tell he loved her brother. He would do what he had to to help him. "Tim's lucky that you're his father, Agent Gibbs."

"It's just Gibbs," he told her. "And I'm the lucky one."

Sarah nodded. "I better go. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Not a problem. You're Tim's sister. That makes you family," Gibbs said.

Sarah couldn't get over it. Gibbs hated her father, and for good reason, yet he was treating her like she was his family. Her father on the other had hated Gibbs, and treated Tim like garbage because of it. It spoke volumes about the differences between these two men. "Thanks," she said once more before leaving to join her brother.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony walked into the office and found Ziva sitting at her desk. He also saw that Gibbs' stuff was at his desk. McGee didn't appear to be anywhere in sight though. "McGee's not in yet."

"No, and I do not advise calling him that when he gets here," Ziva said.

"What do you think happened to him this weekend? It had to be something big to bring him to that bar, and to have Gibbs take him to his place," Tony said. He knew that McGee had spent at least one night at Gibbs' place because he and Ziva had been told to bring his car back there the next morning.

"I am sure he will tell us when he is ready," Ziva said.

"Come on, you can't tell me you're not curious about what's going on," Tony said.

"Of course I am curious, but I am willing to wait until he is ready to tell us," Ziva said.

At that moment, Tim made his way over to them. "Hey."

"Hello, Tim. How was your weekend," Ziva asked.

Tim pondered over the right word to describe the last two days. "Eventful," he finally settled on. "By the way, thank you both for everything you did at the bar last week."

"We hardly did anything aside from calling Gibbs," Ziva said.

"And that's the best thing you could've done for me," Tim said. He didn't see it at the time, but it was good that Ziva had called Gibbs to help him.

"So why were so strange, McWeirdo?" Tony asked.

"Tony, I am respectfully asking you not to call me McGee or any variation of the name," Tim said calmly.

Most of the time Tony would just make another joke, but something in his partner's voice wouldn't let him. Something had definitely happened to upset him. "Okay."

Tim breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully it looked like Tony wasn't going to push it. "So where's Gibbs?"

"He is in the director's office," Ziva answered.

That told Tim everything he needed to know. Gibbs was telling Vance that they were father and son. He just hoped that it was going alright.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

"You can't be serious," said a shocked Vance. Gibbs had just told him that Agent McGee was his son.

"Do I really strike you as the type to joke about something like this, Leon?" Gibbs asked as he sat in front of Vance's desk.

"Well no, but this is… I mean how can… When did…"

Gibbs smirked as his boss fumbled over himself. "You think you're shocked. Try being the father or son in this situation. "

"How long have you known?" Vance asked.

"Since Friday?" he replied.

Vance sighed as he let the information sink in. "Alright, this isn't a big deal. I'll just transfer Agent McGee to a different department."

"Okay, but before you do that, you should take out your gun and shoot me because that's the only way you're taking him off my team," Gibbs said smiling. The tone in his voice was clear though. He wasn't going to let Tim be transferred.

"Gibbs, be reasonable. You can't supervise your own son. There are rules," Vance said.

"I don't recall ever seeing a rule that says you can't have your kid as a subordinate," Gibbs said.

"That's because nothing like this has ever happened before," Vance muttered. For as long as he'd been on the job, he'd never heard of a team leader finding out that one of their agents were actually their kids. "Look written rule or not, it is completely inappropriate for you to be your son's boss."

"Do you really think I'm going to show Tim favoritism in this office because he's my son? You know me better than that, Leon. Once inside this building, Tim will be treated like any other member of my team," Gibbs said. He knew he couldn't treat Tim any differently while they were at work. He would have to treat him like everyone else.

"And what happens when he's on the field? What if you hesitate to let him go out on the field because you don't want to put your son's life at risk?" Vance asked.

"I will not hesitate, Leon. I won't say I won't worry about him, but I'll deal with it," Gibbs said.

Vance sighed. He felt his resolve faltering. "If you hesitate even once, or show Agent McGee any kind of blatant favoritism, I will have no choice but to transfer him. Is that clear, Agent Gibbs?

"Yes sir, Director." Gibbs said snidely.

"This is going way against my better judgment. I'll be watching you and Agent McGee very closely," Vance said.

"I'm sure you will," Gibbs said before standing up and leaving the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few minutes later, Gibbs was walking into the bullpen and towards his desk when he was stopped by Tim.

"Gibbs, I want them to know," Tim said.

Gibbs stopped and looked at him. "You sure?" He didn't have any problem with them knowing, he just wanted to make sure Tim was ready for this.

Tim nodded.

Gibbs nodded and turned towards the others. 'Conference room, now."

Everyone got up and followed Gibbs to the conference. They all piled and sat down. "What's going on, Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs looked at Tim, silently asking him if he wanted to do it.

Tim nodded and turned to the other two occupants. "Okay, so you've both know I had a bit of a meltdown last week.

"Well, yeah, Probie, you ended up in a bar," Tim said.

"There's a reason for that. When I got home on Friday, my entire world was turned on its axis," Tim said.

"What do you mean, Tim?" Ziva asked.

"My mother told me that the man I thought was my father is not," he told them.

"No way," said a shocked Tony. That just didn't possible. Things like that didn't happen in real life. "That's like something out of the movies. In fact, there was one movie where this guy… "He was cut off when Gibbs' hand connected with his head. "Thanks, Boss. We're all ears, Probie."

"Right. As I was saying, my mother told me that her husband wasn't my real father. Now if that weren't shocking enough, she also told me that my father was someone I knew," Tim started to explain.

"Well, who was it? Let me guess, some techno savvy computer geek or something like that," Tony joked.

Gibbs gave Tony one of his old famous stares. "Me."

Tony laughed loudly. "That's a good one Boss." He continued to laugh until he realized that neither Gibbs nor Tim were laughing. "Oh my God, you're serious."

"It is true. You are his father, Gibbs?" Ziva asked, equally as shocked.

Gibbs nodded. "It's true."

"Holy crap! This really is like something out of the movies. I can't believe that something like this actually happens," Tony said in shock. Never in a million years would he have guessed that Gibbs was McGee's father.

"You can't believe it? Try living it," Tim said.

"So this is why you were so upset last week," Ziva realized. Suddenly the short conversation they had at the bar was starting to make sense.

"Yeah, I'd just found out. Alleviating the pain with alcohol just seemed like a good idea at the time," Tim said.

"I guess this is also why you don't want to be called McGee anymore," Tony said as the shock started to wear off.

Tim once again nodded the affirmative.

"Wow. This is really big. Does the director know?" Tony wondered. He had to wonder if they were going to be separated again. It almost seemed inevitable.

"Yes, he knows, and no, Tim's not being transferred," Gibbs said.

Tim looked at him surprised. He knew Gibbs was going to try to make sure he wasn't transferred, but he hadn't known that it worked. "I'm not?"

"No, not as long as I don't treat you any differently on the job, which I wouldn't have anyway," Gibbs said.

Tim was actually glad to hear that. He didn't want any special treatment on the job. He'd worked hard to gain the respect of everyone who worked there. He didn't want that to stop because Gibbs suddenly started treating him differently.

"So than nothing will change then?" Ziva asked.

"Not around here, no," Gibbs said. "Anymore questions?"

They both shook their heads.

"Okay, back to work," Gibbs ordered.

They all got up and started to leave the room. Gibbs stopped Tony as he was about to leave. "Hey. I want you to dial down the jokes with Tim."

"What? But you just said…"

"No, it's not really about him being my son. I've recently came across information that makes a lot of your jokes not so funny," Gibbs said. After what happened with McGee, he wanted Tony to be a little more careful. He didn't want his son taking anymore emotional blows.

"What do you mean? I'm not trying to hurt him or anything. They're just jokes," Tony said.

"I know, and I'm not asking you to completely stop being you, but I need you to be more careful. I know you don't mean them to be hurtful, but I also know that Tim most likely takes more out of them than you intend. And I'm not saying this because he's my son. If I had the same information about you or Ziva, I'd say the same," Gibbs said.

"Okay, I'll be more careful," Tony said. He didn't want to hurt Tim. His jokes were never meant to hurt anyone. They were just meant to lighten the mood and to have a little fun. But if his boss war right and they hurt his friend for some reason, he would stop.

"Alright, let's get back to work," Gibbs said before leading the way out of the conference room.


	12. Chapter 12

Tim made his way down to Abby's lab. She was next on his list of people to tell. Gibbs was going to tell Ducky, so Abby was the last person he had to explain this to. "Abby."

"Timmy!" Abby squealed before throwing herself into his arms.

"Abby, I kind of need to breathe," Tim said.

Abby immediately let go. "Sorry. I've just been worried about you. I haven't seen you since the bar."

Tim cringed. "Not one of my finer moments."

"Are you okay?" Abby asked.

"I'm better than I was," Tim said. He still wouldn't say that he was okay with everything yet, but he was dealing with things a little better.

"So what happened to get you that upset?" she asked.

"Abby, Gibbs is my father," Tim said bluntly. He figured it was best to just come out and say it.

"Well, of course he is. He's like a father to all of us. We're like a family," Abby said.

"No, you don't understand. Gibbs is my father. My flesh and blood," Tim said.

"Wait, you're saying that Gibbs really is your father?" asked a shocked Abby.

Tim nodded.

"How is that possible? I mean, I know how it's possible, but how did it happen? Okay, I know how it happened, but I mean-

"Abby!" Tim interrupted. She was rambling, and that was never a good sign. "Calm down."

"Right, sorry. It's that this is really weird. I mean, Gibbs is your father? Who would've guessed that?" Abby asked. She certainly wouldn't have guessed it. Though now that she really looked, Tim resembled Gibbs a little bit.

"Yeah, neither would I," Tim said. Even when he thought that his mother might have had a relationship with Gibbs at some point, he never considered the possibility of him being his father.

"How did you find out? Does Gibbs know? How did he react? Did he know the whole time? He couldn't have, could he? Gibbs would never have kept this from you," Abby continued to ramble.

"Whoa, slow down. One question at a time, okay?" Tim asked. "I found out from my mother when I got home on Friday."

"So that's why you were in the bar," Abby realized.

"Yeah. I was really upset that night. I'd just been told that my boss was my father. I was feeling so many emotions at once, and I didn't know how else to deal with it, so I tried to drink it all away," Tim explained. "It didn't work though."

"But why would you need to? You should be glad to have Gibbs for a father. He's great," Abby said. She really didn't see what the problem was. Gibbs was wonderful. In fact, she was a little jealous of Tim. She'd always considered Gibbs to be like a father to her. She kind of wished it was her.

"Yeah, he is," Tim agreed. "And he's been great to me these last few days. He immediately stepped up and started being my father. But it's a little disconcerting to find out that your entire life has been a lie. That's what it felt like when my mother told me. It was like someone stripped me of everything that made me who I am and replaced it with something else. And yeah, the end result is Gibbs, who seems to care about what happens to me, but I can't move on and pretend that this is how it's always been. It's just not that simple."

"I guess I didn't think of it like that. Now that I do think about it, it does seem pretty overwhelming," Abby admitted. "So what does Gibbs say about all this?"

"Gibbs says he cares about me and that he always will," Tim said. His voice sounded unsure though. He still wasn't completely sure how long Gibbs would actually stick around. He wanted to believe that the man would stay true to his word, but he'd had too many people in that type of role hurt him, so he wasn't sure he could trust it.

"You sound like you don't believe him," Abby stated.

"It's hard, okay? I'm not used to people saying those kinds of things to me," Tim said. The only thing he was used to hearing from parental figures besides Gibbs were how much of a failure he was, and how he should try to be better.

"Well, Gibbs doesn't say things he doesn't mean. If he says he's going to be there for you, he will be," Abby said. She wasn't sure why Tim would doubt Gibbs' words, but she felt the need to reassure him. "How long has Gibbs known anyway?"

"A few hours longer than I have," Tim answered. "Apparently he found out the same day I did.

In that moment Abby realized when Gibbs must have found out. "The DNA test."

"What?" asked a confused Tim.

"Gibbs had me run a paternity test that day. It must have been for him and you," Abby said.

"He ran a test on me?" Tim asked surprised. He knew that Gibbs knew, but he hadn't known how. It didn't really bother him though. If Gibbs hadn't done it, they'd still be in the dark.

"Yeah, I gave him the results on Friday morning. He was really shocked. More than I'd ever seen him before," she said.

"Yeah, I know how he feels," Tim said. "Anyway, I better get back to work."

"You're not going to be transferred, are you?" Abby asked. She didn't want to think about losing Tim on from the team. He belonged right where he was.

"No. As long as Gibbs and I don't let this affect work, I get to stay," Tim said.

"Well, you better get to it. We don't want the director trying to use your not working as an excuse. Go on, hop to it," Abby ordered.

Tim laughed at Abby's antics as he walked out of the lab.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked into autopsy, where he found Ducky working on a body. "Hey, Ducky."

The elderly man turned to look at him. "Oh, hello, Jethro. How was your weekend?"

"Eventful," Gibbs said. He could honestly say that this weekend was not dull.

"Ah, yes, I heard of young Timothy's antics at the bar last week. As I understand it, you played a part in helping him," Ducky said. Abby had told him all about it when he got there that morning.

"It's a little more complicated than that. Tim is my son, Ducky," Gibbs told him.

Ducky immediately stopped what he was doing and looked at his friend. He couldn't possibly have heard right. "Pardon?"

"You heard me right the first time, Duck. Tim is my son," Gibbs repeated.

"Are you sure?" asked a still shocked Ducky.

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm positive. I had Abby run a paternity test. There's no doubt about it."

"Well, that must have been quite shocking for you. How do you feel about it?" Ducky asked.

"About Tim being my son? I'm proud. Tim is an amazing person. Any man should be feel proud to call someone like him their son," Gibbs said. That was the thing he didn't understand about Brad McGee. How could he not see what an extraordinary person Tim was?

"Why do I get the feeling that something is distressing you?" Ducky asked. He could tell that Jethro meant what he said about Timothy, but he also sensed that something was troubling him.

Gibbs sighed. "I'm worried about him, Duck."

"Timothy didn't take the news well?" Ducky asked. He wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. It was very difficult thing to come to terms with.

"He's taking it about as well as can be expected, but his life has just been ripped open," Gibbs said. That was only half of what was going on with Tim, but Gibbs couldn't tell Ducky the rest. He wouldn't display Tim's history for everyone to see.

"Well, something like this will take time. It's not something you can rush."

"No, of course not. I just want him to know that I'm here for him," Gibbs said.

"Have you told him that?" Ducky asked."

"I have," he said.

"Does he not believe you?" Ducky asked. He didn't see why Timothy wouldn't believe him, but that seemed to be what Jethro was hinting at.

Gibbs chose his words very carefully. "I think he has a really difficult time trusting what anyone says right now."

Ducky nodded. That made sense given everything that was going on. "Yes, that is understandable. You may just have to keep saying it."

"Oh, I intend to. I just hope one day he believes me," Gibbs said. He meant what he told Tim. He would say it for as long as it took for his son to believe it. He just hoped that happened.

"Make sure to tell him that if he needs to talk to someone else, my door is open," Ducky said.

"I will. Thanks, Duck," Gibbs said before walking out.


	13. Chapter 13

A couple of hours later, Tim walked into a small diner with Tony and Ziva. They were on their lunch break and decided to have lunch together. They went over to a small booth and sat down.

"So how does it feel, Probie?" Tony asked.

"How does what feel?" Tim asked confused.

"Being the boss' son," Tony said with a smirk on his face.

Tim rolled his eyes. Leave it to Tony to say something like that. "It's not like that, Tony. You heard Gibbs. No special treatment."

"_I_ know that, but no one else does. You could control the whole office with three little words. 'I'm Gibbs' son'." Tony said. He of course knew that Tim would never do that. He was just trying to lighten his mood a little. He knew that things had been hard for his partner. He figured joking about it a little might lessen that some.

"Well, that definitely sounds like something you would do, Tony," he said.

"Don't you know it, Probie," Tony confirmed.

"And Gibbs would probably kill you for it," Ziva said.

"Yeah, probably," Tony said.

"Anyway, I don't want any special treatment. If things stay the way they are around the office, that's at least one thing that's not going to change," Tim said. He couldn't deal with anymore change right now.

"I know, Tim. I was just trying to lighten the mood," Tony said.

Tim smiled. "I know, and I appreciate that. It's just going to take a little while for me to get used to things.

Ziva, meanwhile was looking at a man behind them. He'd walked in a second earlier and was staring daggers at the back of Tim's head. "Tim, there is a man staring at you."

Tim turned around and was horrified to find that Brad was behind him. _Oh God, not now. _He couldn't deal with Brad right now. Not when Tony and Ziva were sitting right there. He didn't want them to see how weak he really was.

As Brad approached, Tim turned around and looked down at the table. "Well, hello, Tim. Who do we have here? What'd you pay these people to tolerate your presence?"

"Who the hell are you?" Tony asked, taking an instant dislike to the man. Who did this man think he was talking to Tim like that?

"I'm this loser's father," Brad said.

"No, you're not. My boss is his father," Tony said. "Now I don't know who you are, but I would strongly suggest walking away now."

Brad ignored him and continued to taunt Tim. "So did he tell you how worthless you are yet? He will. Just give him time."

Tim really wished he was invisible right now. This couldn't be happening here. He didn't want his coworkers to know that he was a pathetic weakling that couldn't even defend himself about a few harsh words.

Ziva looked at her friend. She could see that this man was getting to him. She stood up and faced the man attacking him. "You need to leave now."

Brad bent over the table a little and forced Tim to look at him. "What's the matter? You don't want your colleagues to know what a useless waste of space you are? Because that's what you are. They'll realize it soon enough. So will that bastard, Gibbs. They will all realize that you are nothing but lousy piece of garbage who isn't worth their time or energy."

Ziva had heard enough. She wasn't going to listen to this any longer. She grabbed Brad by the arm and pinned it behind his back. She then brought his head down on the table just a few inches away from Tim.

Tim was shocked. He hadn't expected this. He knew Ziva was more than capable of hurting Brad, but he hadn't been expecting her to do that. After a second, he looked back at his friends, and the hurt and humiliation returned.

Soon a few people started paying attention to them. Tony quickly stood up and flashed his badge. "NCIS. It's alright, folks."

"Apologize!" Ziva ordered.

"Go to hell!" Brad yelled.

Ziva tightened her grip on his arm and twisted his wrist a little. "I said apologize."

"I'm sorry," he said through gritted teeth.

"I do not think he heard you," Ziva said.

"I'm sorry!" Brad said louder.

Ziva finally let him up and pushed him away. "I'll say it again. Leave."

Tim looked on in shock as Brad left. That had been a first for him. Bradley McGee had been forced to apologize. He knew he hadn't meant it, but it was nice to see him at someone else's mercy for once.

Tony looked at his friend. He could hardly believe the scene he'd just witnessed. What kind of person talked to their son like that? No, he wasn't really Tim's father, but Tim didn't know that until a few days ago. Tony had to wonder if this was what it had been like for Tim growing up. Suddenly, his conversation with Gibbs came back to him. This must have been why Gibbs wanted him to cut back on the jokes. Because they weren't just jokes to Tim. This was his life. He was verbally tortured by the man he used to think was his father.

Tony looked at the sad expression on his friend's face and he started to feel guilty about the things he used to say to him. His jokes were never meant to be hurtful, but now he realized that Tim probably took them that way. He had to wonder how many of his jokes contributed to his friend's already low self-esteem.

Ziva sat down in her seat. "Tim, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Tim lied. He was far from fine. He'd barely had enough time to recover from last night before Brad came at him again for round two. What was worse was that he did it in front of Tony and Ziva. He could just hear the jokes now about how he couldn't even stand up for himself against a verbal assault. "I'm sorry about that."

"Do not apologize, Tim. You are not responsible for the way he treats you," Ziva said.

"I should've stood up to him," Tim said.

"It's not your fault, Probie. He's the one that needed to be taken down a peg. And thanks to ninja girl here, he was," Tony said.

"Does he always treat you that way?" Ziva asked.

Tim didn't answer. He couldn't bring himself to. He simply looked down at the table again, telling his coworkers everything they needed to know.

"Wow, my father is looking better and better every second," Tony said. He had a sucky father, but even Anthony DiNozzo Sr. didn't' treat him the way Tim's 'father' treated him.

"Can we drop this please? It's over. I just want to let it go," Tim said. He didn't want to talk about this any longer. He just wanted to forget this day, and he wanted Tony and Ziva to forget it as well.

"Sure, Tim. We'll let it go," Tony said.

"And don't tell Gibbs about this, alright?" Tim asked. The last thing he wanted was for Gibbs to find out. It was bad enough that he knew about last night, and that Tony and Ziva watched what happened today. Also, if Gibbs knew about another incident, it might make him realize that Brad was right about how worthless he was, and Tim couldn't take that.

Tony hesitated. He didn't think it was a good idea to hide this from Gibbs. Gibbs should know so that he could help Tim. On the other hand though, Tim was his friend. He wanted the man to know that he would keep his secrets. "Okay, I won't say anything."

"I will not either, but I think that you should," Ziva said.

"Thanks guys. I'm going to head back. I'm not hungry anymore," Tim said before getting up and walking out the door.

"I think we just made a mistake by making that promise," Ziva said.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, me too."


	14. Chapter 14

Gibbs looked back and forth between his three agents. Something was not right. Ever since they all came back from lunch, Tim had been trying his best to appear as though everything was fine. It wasn't working though. Despite his efforts, he looked defeated and in turmoil. Then there were the other two. They keep looked back and forth at each other, and at Tim. Whatever had happened to Tim, they knew about it.

Gibbs got up and started towards the elevator, only looking back to beckon Tony. "DiNozzo, with me."

Tony immediately got up and jogged to catch up with his boss, who was already at the elevator. Once inside, Tony watched as Gibbs hit the emergency switch, shutting down the elevator. He began to get nervous. This was never a good sign. "Is there something wrong, Boss?"

"You tell me, DiNozzo. What the hell happened when the three of you were at lunch?" Gibbs asked.

Tony cringed. He was afraid this was what it was about. None of them had done a great job of hiding that something bad happened while they were gone. "I don't know what you mean, Boss?"

"No? So it's just my imagination that Tim looks so stricken and that you and Ziva look worried?" Gibbs asked irritably. "Tony, you need to tell me what is going on right now!"

"I… I can't," Tony said quietly, giving up all pretenses. There was no use hiding that he did in fact know what was going on. It was just pissing Gibbs off even more.

"What do you mean you can't?" Gibbs asked in a low voice.

"Boss, I want to, I really do, but I can't. I promised Tim I wouldn't tell you," Tony said. He couldn't say anything. He wouldn't be another person Tim couldn't trust.

Gibbs took a deep breath to try to calm down. Yelling at Tony wouldn't help anything. "You promised. And are you going to that decision if Tim self-destructs?"

Tony looked down. He already regretted it. The moment he made the promise he regretted it. He couldn't take it back though. He'd made the promise. He would have to keep it. If he didn't, Tim would never trust him again.

"I don't think you really understand the depth of what Tim has been through," Gibbs said. He didn't even understand all of it, but he knew enough to know that Tim's self-esteem was pretty much nonexistent.

"Trust me, I know enough," Tony said. He would never forget his friend's face when that bastard was ripping into him. He looked like a little kid who was reamed out, only it went far beyond an angry parent scolding their kid. It was abuse. There was no other way to put it.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. That one statement told him a lot. Either Tim told him something about what McGee did to him, which was very unlikely, or he'd witnessed for himself. If it was the latter, Gibbs might just have to go through with his promise to McGee. "You met Tim's stepfather, didn't you?"

"I can't confirm or deny that, Boss," Tony said. He knew that wouldn't matter though. Gibbs had already figured it out, and he was grateful for it. He'd been able to technically keep his promise and let Gibbs know what was going on all at the same time.

"You don't have to," Gibbs said as he hit the emergency switch again.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, the team was getting ready to leave for the day. Gibbs picked up his things and turned to his son. "Tim, you're staying at my place again tonight." It wasn't a question or a request. It was an order. He and Tim needed to talk. He was keeping his promise from the night before. He would have this conversation with his son every night if he had to.

Tim nodded. He'd been planning to do that anyway. As far as he knew, this mother and Brad were still at his apartment, so he really didn't have any other option. "I'll meet you there," he said before grabbing his things and walking out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked into the house to find Gibbs already there despite the fact that the man had left after him. He wasn't that surprised though. Gibbs drove pretty fast. "Hey. I'm going to head up to bed." He didn't' trust himself to stay in Gibbs' presence any longer. He was still upset about what happened earlier with Brad. He knew he wouldn't be able to hide it much longer. The fact that Gibbs hadn't figured it out already was a miracle.

"Uh uh. We need to talk," Gibbs said.

Tim looked him. It seemed Gibbs knew at least some of what had happened. Then he remembered Gibbs taking Tony aside. Tony must have told him. "Dammit, Tony," he cursed quietly. Tony promised he wouldn't say anything. How could he just betray him like that? Why did everyone keep doing that?

"Tony didn't tell me, your face did. All of your faces did. I knew something was wrong the moment you all walked off the elevator. I figured out the gist of what must have happened for myself. Tony didn't me anything. He didn't break his promise, no matter how much he wanted to," Gibbs said. He wanted to be clear on that fact. He wanted Tim to know that Tony had stayed true to his word.

Tim was relieved to hear that Tony hadn't betrayed him. That relief was replaced with dread though. He didn't want to have this conversation with Gibbs. He didn't even want him to know what happened. The look on Gibbs' face told him that he wasn't going to get out of it though.

"Tell me what happened," Gibbs said.

"It's not that big a deal," he said.

"Your face says otherwise," Gibbs responded. He wasn't buying Tim's attempt to downplay this.

Tim sighed. "He showed up at the restaurant. I tried to ignore him and hope he'd go away, but it didn't work.

Gibbs was already pissed off. The bastard was stalking his son. There was no way he just so happened to show up at the place the gang was eating at. He'd been following Tim. "Go on."

"He wouldn't leave me alone. He came over and immediately started in on me," Tim said sadly.

"What did he say?" Gibbs asked.

"It doesn't matter," said Tim. He didn't want to go into detail. It was bad enough that Gibbs knew it happened. He didn't need him to know the depth of his humiliation.

"It matters to me because I'm going to break his arm off," Gibbs said. He was beyond angry. He warned McGee to stay away from Tim, and the man not only disregarded that warning, he started following Tim.

Tim snorted. He could appreciate the irony, given that Ziva had nearly done just that. "Ziva nearly did that for you."

"Really?" Gibbs asked intrigued.

"Yeah, she wasn't a fan of the way he talked to me. She twisted his arm behind his back and made him apologize to me," Tim explained. He still couldn't get over all that. Never had he seen Brad at someone else's mercy before.

Gibbs couldn't help but smirk. Big bad Bradley McGee, Navel Lieutenant, taken down by a woman. He knew that must have been a huge blow to McGee's ego. He only wished he could've seen it. Then again, if he'd even seen McGee near Tim, there wouldn't be anything left for Ziva. "So what did he say to incur the wrath of Ziva?"

"What he always says. He called a useless piece of trash. He said that everyone would realize that and turn against me. He actually went so far as to accuse me of paying Tony and Ziva to be around me," Tim said. That had been the most humiliating part. He'd brought his friends into it.

Gibbs sighed in an attempt to try to control his temper. He would have plenty of time to find and kill McGee later. Right now, Tim needed him to be calm so he could help him. "It's not your fault."

"Maybe it is. Maybe if I'd just tried harder…" he trailed off as his voice started to crack. He was losing control fast, and he didn't like it. He hated what he was reduced to after a conversation with Brad.

Gibbs walked forward and placed his hands on Tim's shoulders. "Hey. Don't let him do this to you. Don't let him make you responsible for his abusiveness."

Tim suddenly became confused. "What do you mean 'abusiveness?' He didn't abuse me. He never laid a hand on me."

"Doesn't matter. Abuse doesn't always mean physical. Emotional abuse can be just as bad, if not worse," Gibbs said.

Tim didn't know what to say to that. He'd never considered what Brad did to him to be abuse. Yeah, it was awful and humiliating, but he never physically hurt him. But Gibbs had just told him that didn't matter. That even cruel words could be considered abuse. "So… I was abused?"

"Yes, son. You were," he said sadly. He could see his son start to recognize what that meant.

"I… I don't… I can't…" Tim couldn't seem to form a full sentence. The reality of what Gibbs was telling him was hitting him hard. He didn't want to be an abuse victim. That unsettled him ever more

"It's alright, son," Gibbs said before putting his arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug. "It's going to be okay. I'm not going anywhere, not ever."

Tim returned the hug after a minute. Once he got rid of the initial awkwardness, he started to relax a little. This was the first time he felt truly loved. He wasn't sure how long it would last, but it was a start.


	15. Chapter 15

Gibbs banged on a hotel room door. After getting Tim calmed down enough to leave him alone for a little while, he immediately called in a favor to track the McGee's down. They had left Tim's apartment like he'd ordered, but they hadn't left DC. By the time he was finished with them they would though.

The door was opened a second later by Clare. "Jethro, what are you doing here?"

"Where the hell is he?" Gibbs demanded as he stormed into the room. He wanted to tear McGee limb from limb.

"If you're talking about Brad, he's not here," Clare said as she closed the door and glared at him. "He's at the hospital having his hand x-rayed. He wants to make sure it's not broken. You know, from your attack on him earlier today?"

Gibbs laughed. "So he told you I did that, huh?" He wasn't surprised. There's no way McGee would tell people Ziva had done it.

"Are you saying you didn't?" Clare asked.

"Trust me, if I'd been there to watch him verbally attack our son, I wouldn't have stopped with is arm," Gibbs said.

"It was just a misunderstanding," Clare said.

Gibbs laughed humorlessly. He couldn't believe this woman's nerve. He didn't know how he could've ever cared about her. The only good thing that came out of the two of them ever being together was Tim. "A misunderstanding. You call telling someone he's trash and a mistake a misunderstanding. I call it abuse, and it stops now. If the two of you know what's good for you, you'll take the next plane back to wherever it is you come from."

"Is that a threat?" she asked.

"No. I threat implies that I might not follow through. This is a promise. The next time I see your worthless husband, I'm going to break every bone in his body. So I suggest you make sure I don't see him or you ever again," Gibbs said. He'd had it. He would not let Tim be hurt any longer. His son deserved some piece for once in his life.

"Why are you doing this, Jethro?" Clare asked.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Why am I doing this? You even have the nerve to ask me that? I am doing this to protect our… no, _my _son," he said. Clare didn't have the right to call Tim hers anymore. She lost that right when she allowed her husband to abuse him.

"Tim doesn't need protection from me," Clare said.

"Oh, I disagree. You are just as bad for Tim as your bastard husband. He needs to be kept as far away from you as possible. And until I'm confident that Tim can make the decision of whether or not he still wants you in his life without completely falling apart, I'm going to do it for him." Gibbs said. Normally that was a choice he'd let Tim make for himself, but he wasn't sure his son was capable of doing that right now. He had no self-confidence right now. If he was pressured by Brad and Clare right now, he'd fall apart. He needed to get his own life together before he could deal with his mother and the loser she married.

"You can't do that. You can't keep my son from me," Clare said angrily.

Gibbs took a step forward so that their faces were inches apart. "Watch me." He then turned around and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs walked into his house and found Tim sitting on the couch in the living room. He had his laptop in front of him. "Hey,"

"Hey," Tim said as he closed his computer and put it on the table.

Gibbs went over and sat down next him. He pulled out two sandwiches from the bag he was carrying and handed on to Tim.

"Thanks," Tim said as he started unwrapping the offered sandwich. "So is he still alive?" he was of course referring to Brad. It hadn't been hard to figure out where Gibbs was going when he left. He knew it wasn't just for dinner, especially because he mentioned breaking Brad's arm earlier in their conversation.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I went to see him?"

"Well, it doesn't take an hour to go get sandwiches," Tim replied as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Gibbs laughed. "Yeah, he's still alive. I didn't even see him. He wasn't there. Apparently, Ziva did a number on his arm. Might've even broken it."

Tim chuckled. "I know that had to burn. He's old fashioned. The idea of a woman hurting him would humiliate him. Hell anyone doing that would get to him."

"Of course it would. He likes to give out pain, but he can't take it when it's dished right back to him," Gibbs said.

Tim's face suddenly got serious. "Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't want to be somebody who was abused," Tim said. In some ways, knowing that the way Brad treated him was abuse made things even worse. Because now he was labeled. He would carry it around with him forever. Even if no one ever found out, he would know, and he would wonder if others could see it as well. He didn't want that.

"I don't think anyone does, Tim," Gibbs said. "I wish I could take that feeling away from you, but I can't. What I can do is assure you that he can't hurt you anymore."

"Yes, he can. Hell, he still is. I mean, I can say that I know it's abuse, but a part of me still believes the things he says to me. A part of me believes that one day, everyone is going to turn on me because they're going to figure out that he's right," Tim said. He knew those feeling weren't normal, but he couldn't help but feel them.

"I know you do," Gibbs said sadly. He hated that his son could feel those things, but he was determined to make him see that he was wrong. "It's not true though. We're not all like Brad McGee. We're not going to abandon you. _I'm _not going to abandon you."

"I wanna believe that. I'm just not sure how," Tim said. He'd never really had someone promise to take care of him like Gibbs was. He didn't really know how to respond to it. "And to top it all off, Brad isn't going away. Every time I turn around he's there. Like he was today. It's like now that I know the truth, he wants to torment me even more.

"You wanna get out of here for a couple of days?" Gibbs asked. He could tell that his son needed a break. He needed to be as far away from McGee as he could get. Gibbs couldn't guarantee that Brad and Clare would leave right away, so maybe the next logical choice was to take a mini vacation from real life.

"You mean out of DC? Where would we go?" Tim asked

"I figured we could go see my father this weekend. I know he'd really love to know that he has a grandson," Gibbs said. He still hadn't told his father about Tim yet, but he knew once he did, the man would want to see him. He also thought it would do Tim some good to see how a family is supposed to treat each other.

"That sounds good actually," Tim said. He could use a couple of days away from everything, and he wouldn't mind spending it in Gibbs' home time. Despite the murder investigation, it had been alright last time.

"Alright, I'll call Jack in the morning and let him know we'll be there this weekend," Gibbs said.

Tim nodded and stood up. "I'm going to head up to bed."

Gibbs nodded and watched as his son headed up the stairs.


	16. Chapter 16

The next morning, Tony sat nervously at his desk as Tim came in and went over to his own desk. He was worried that Tim was going to be mad at him. While it was true he hadn't told Gibbs about what happened the day before with Tim's stepfather, he had hinted at it, which pretty much told Gibbs what he wanted to know.

Tony hesitantly got up from his chair and went over to the front of Tim's desk. "Hey, listen, about yesterday, I-"

"Tony, it's okay. I'm not mad," Tim said. He knew immediately what Tony was trying to say. "I know you didn't break your promise to me. I know you didn't tell Gibbs what happened."

"Maybe not, but I did hint at it," Tony admitted.

"It doesn't matter. He was going to find out anyway. I was naïve to think I'd be able to hide it from him," Tim said. Now that he really thought about it, he knew it was stupid to think he could hide what happened with Brad from Gibbs. He was really bad at hiding how worthless he felt after a conversation with Brad, and Gibbs was really good at figuring out people. He never had a chance of hiding it.

Tony smiled. "Yeah, you kind of were. I mean, nobody can hide things from him. He is Gibbs after all. "

Tim returned. "Yeah, he is. Anyway, we're fine."

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. "Where is Gibbs anyway?"

"He probably stopped for coffee," Tim said. They'd left at the same time, but Tim had arrived first, so Gibbs had likely stopped somewhere.

"Yeah, that's a pretty safe bet," Tony said. Gibbs did not go without coffee.

"I wonder what would have to happen if he was forced to skip his morning coffee," Ziva said.

Tony cringed when he remembered a time when that actually happened. "I don't have to wonder. I've seen it. It is not a pretty sight. You think he's bad now? Without his morning coffee he's…" He paused when he felt a presence behind him. He didn't need to turn around to know it was Gibbs. "…still the best boss in the entire world. He's great. He's awesome. He's per-" He was cut off by a smack to the back of the head. "Thanks, Boss. Going back to work now," he said before heading to his desk and ignoring the snickers from his coworkers.

Gibbs walked over to Ziva's desk and deposited a cup of coffee on it.

"What is this?" Ziva asked.

"Coffee, Ziva," Gibbs said as if it should be obvious.

"Well, yes, I know it is coffee, but you have never bought me a cup of coffee before," Ziva said.

"Well, anyone who gets the drop on Brad McGee in public deserves a free cup of coffee," Gibbs said before going over to his desk to quickly grab something. "We've got a dead petty officer. Grab your gear." He then tossed the keys to the truck to Tony and headed towards the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked over to where Ducky was with the body and began taking pictures for evidence.

"Hello, Timothy," Ducky greeted.

"Hey, Ducky," Tim said politely as he continued to take photos.

"So I hear congratulations are in order," Ducky said.

"Gibbs told you?" Tim asked. He wasn't surprised by it though. He knew that Gibbs was going to tell Ducky. He'd told him so himself.

"Indeed," Ducky confirmed. "You know, my door is open to you if you ever need to talk."

"What makes you think I would need to?" Tim asked nervously. Gibbs hadn't told him the rest of it, had he? He didn't think the man would do that, but what else could make Ducky think he needed to talk.

"Well, you've just been given the shock of your life. That can't be easy to deal with," he said.

Tim breathed a sigh of relief. It appeared that Ducky was only talking about him finding out that Gibbs was his father. "No, it isn't."

'Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone who isn't directly involved," Ducky continued.

Tim paused what he was doing for a minute to think. Ducky might be right about that fact. He'd talked to Gibbs about everything a couple of times, but it might be easier with Ducky. After all, he wasn't as afraid that Ducky would turn against him. "I might take you up on that, Ducky."

"Anytime."

"Anyway, I better get back to work," Tim said before putting his camera away and going to help Tony with bagging and tagging.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, Tim walked into Autopsy. He'd decided to try to talk to the man like he suggested.

"Ah, Timothy, did Jethro send you up?" Ducky asked.

"No, I came on my own. Are you busy?" Tim asked.

Ducky immediately stopped what he was doing. "Not too busy for you. I assume this is about what he discussed earlier."

Tim nodded.

"I'm all ears," Ducky said.

"How much did Gibbs tell you?" Tim asked.

"Only that you're having a difficult time with everything," he replied.

Tim snorted. "That's an understatement. I can't even begin to tell you what it was like when my mother finally told me the truth. I felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me."

"That's certainly understandable. You must like everything you ever knew was a lie," Ducky said.

"It was."

"No, it wasn't. You're still who you've always been. That doesn't change because of who your father is. You are still a remarkable person and a damn good agent. Finding out your father isn't who you thought he was doesn't change that fact," Ducky told him.

Tim laughed. "You know what the funny part is? I am who I am because of Gibbs. I mean, you saw me when I first got here. I was a nervous wreck. It took me a long time to gain _any _self-confidence," he said. As it was, he didn't have very much self-confidence, but what little he did have was because of Gibbs.

"Yes, well, you were new at the time. That sort of thing is expected," Ducky said.

"That wasn't why, Ducky. It had nothing to do with the job. My lack of self-confidence was learned," Tim said sadly.

Ducky began to understand. Timothy's pain wasn't just about the lies he was told. It went much deeper than that.

"My father… well the man I thought was my father always made it very clear what he thought of me. To him, I was just a worthless mistake that he was forced to deal with. And he had no problem telling me as much," Tim said looking down. He didn't' know why he was telling Ducky this. Maybe he hoped that if he heard the same thing from Ducky that he did from Gibbs, he would believe it.

Ducky began to get angry when he heard that. He detested people who treated their children like that. There was very little worse than making a child feel like he was less than. "I am sorry, Timothy. You didn't deserve that.

"That's what Gibbs says," Tim said.

"You don't believe him," Ducky stated. It was obvious by the way the young man said it that he didn't believe it.

Neither of them noticed Gibbs show up in the doorway.

"I want to. But I just don't know how," he said. He was trying to believe Gibbs' words, but a part of him just couldn't no matter how hard he tried. He just came back to what Brad told him.

Ducky nodded. "That is the truly devastating thing about emotional abuse. It is in many ways worse than physical abuse. When someone physically hurts you, it leaves behind marks that will heal with modern medicine. Emotional abuse leaves behind scars that are not so easily noticeable. Those scars are left on your spirit, not your body, and they are a lot harder to heal.

"Abuse. I never thought of it like that until Gibbs said it," Tim said.

"Most people don't. They think abuse always means a physical attack. It doesn't. Abuse is any type of mistreatment to another person. Unfortunately the type of abuse you suffered doesn't get much attention. That's probably why it's so hard for some to see it as abuse," Ducky explained.

"I don't know what to do, Ducky. Gibbs keeps telling me that I don't deserve it, and I know he's trying to make me feel better, but if anything, it makes me feel worse. I don't know if that makes sense," Tim said. It certainly didn't make sense to him. Gibbs' words should make him feel better, not worse.

"Oh, it does. You see, you are used to being told how worthless you are. You've been told that your whole life. You've been told so for so long that you've accepted it as the truth. Now you're being told that that isn't so. You don't know what to believe anymore. You find yourself wanted to believe in Jethro, but you are also afraid to do so," Ducky said.

Tim couldn't believe it. It was like Ducky had inside access to his mind. That was exactly how he felt. "Am I really that transparent?"

"I've done research on the subject. I know the damning affects it can have."

"Do you any idea how I can get rid of them?" Tim asked.

Ducky shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for this. Realizing that you are with something is something you're going to have to come to little by little. My best advice is to try to let Jethro help you."

"I'll try."

Meanwhile, Gibbs moved out of sight. Now he was even more sure about his decision to take Tim to Stillwater this weekend. Tim needed to see how a family was supposed to treat each other. Maybe he was exposed to him and his father, it would speed the process Ducky was talking about up a little. Either way, it couldn't hurt. With that in mind, he walked away and went over to the elevator.


	17. Chapter 17

Tim felt like butterflies were crawling around in the pit of his stomach as Gibbs pulled the car into the parking lot of his father's store. It made him feel like a little kid again, but he was worried how Jackson Gibbs would react to him being his grandson.

Gibbs looked over at his son. He could see the fear in his eyes. The fear of being rejected. To most that would seem ridiculous, but not in Tim's case. Tim was used to being rejected by people who were supposed to be family. It was all he knew until recently, so that fear made sense.

"Tim, do me a favor. I forgot to stop at the gas station when came up. You mind taking a ride down the street?" Gibbs asked. It was a split second decision, but he thought it would be best if Tim wasn't there when he told his father about Tim. That way his father would be over the initial shock when Tim arrived and his son wouldn't have to worry about the older man's reaction.

Tim breathed a sigh of relief as he took the keys. He really didn't want to be there when Gibbs told his father the truth about him, so he welcomed the excuse to get out of there for a few minutes. "Yeah, no problem."

Gibbs stepped out of the car and allowed Tim to scoot over to the driver's side. "You can get there and back okay, right?"

Tim nodded before pulling out of the parking lot.

Gibbs watched Tim leave before walking into his father's store, who he found behind the counter. "Hey, Dad."

Jack smiled as walked out from behind the counter and over to his son and hugged him briefly. "It's good to see you, Leroy."

"You too, Dad," Gibbs said.

"I am wondering what brings you back here after all these years though. The only time you've been back here since you joined the marines was for a case," Jack said. He was of course glad to see his son, but he worried about what could bring him back after all this time. He'd refused to tell him over the phone, which worried Jack even more.

Gibbs sighed and looked at his father seriously. "I need your help."

Jack was even more worried now. His son hadn't come to him for help in many years. "I don't think I've heard those words outta you since you were a boy."

Gibbs shrugged his shoulders. "Desperate times."

"What is it?" he asked.

"You remember that girl I went with in high school? Clare Jacobs?"

"Oh, yeah, I remember her," Jack said unenthusiastically. He wasn't a fan of hers. "I never liked her."

"I never would've guessed," Gibbs said sarcastically. His father was never shy about the way he felt about Clare.

"She treated you like crap, Leroy. How many times did she switch back and forth between you and that little punk? His name was McGee, wasn't it?"

Gibbs nodded.

"That's the same as one of your agents, right? I almost asked that kid if he was related to the punk," Jack said.

"What stopped you?" Gibbs wondered.

"I thought he was too nice to be related to him," Jack said.

Gibbs laughed a little. His father was right. Tim and Sarah both seemed too decent to be related to that jackass. "Well, you were right and wrong?"

"How's that?" he asked.

"Tim isn't related to Brad McGee, but he didn't know it until recently," Gibbs told him. "Apparently, Clare was pregnant when she left town all those years ago.

Jack raised an eyebrow. His son's implications were not lost on him. "Are you saying that he's…?"

"Yeah. He's all mine," Gibbs said. He meant it. Tim was his. No one else's. Not McGee's, not even Clare's, not after the crap she'd put him here.

Jack was shocked. He hadn't been expecting this. He was a grandfather again. After Kelly, he never thought this would happen again. "I have a grandson."

Gibbs nodded.

"Well, when can I meet him?" Jack asked. While he'd actually met the young man before, he hadn't met him as his grandson.

Gibbs looked at his watch for a minute. "In about five minutes."

"He's here?" Jack asked surprised.

Gibbs nodded. I had him take a drive. I wanted to tell you this without him being here."

"Why?" Jack asked confused.

"Because I didn't want him to feel rejected."

"I would never do that," Jack said outraged. How could his son possibly think he'd reject his own family?

"I know that, Dad, but Tim doesn't. I didn't want him to mistake possible shock for rejection," Gibbs said.

"Why would he?"

"Tim has never known the true love of a parent," Gibbs said sadly. Despite Clare's proclamation of love for Tim, Gibbs didn't buy it. Actions spoke louder than words. And Clare's actions, or lack thereof, said that she didn't' give a damn about his son. "He has a deep seeded fear of rejection. Hell, he's even afraid I'm going to do it one of these days."

"That's crap. You would never reject your own son!" Jack said with conviction.

"You're damn right I wouldn't. I just wish I could get him to see that. It's hard though. I don't know how to undo the damage that McGee and his so called mother caused."

"What kind of damage are we talking about here?" Jack asked in a dangerously low voice. He didn't like where this was going. What had these people done to his grandson.

Gibbs sat down at a small table in the store. Jack soon joined him. "They treated him like crap. Clare watched as her worthless husband ridiculed and belittled my son until he completely destroyed his self-esteem," he said as his anger returned. Just thinking about it made him want to commit two murders. "Now I've never heard the things McGee has said to him personally because if I had he'd be dead in a ditch somewhere, but I have heard some things from other people. The things he says to him are just vile. Now I don't know what to do. I'm not sure how to help him."

"Oh, I'll tell you what we do. We take my Winchester and we kill the little punk," Jack said angrily. No one messed with his family, no one.

Gibbs laughed. "Oh, don't think I haven't been tempted. Believe me, I've spent many nights in the basement just imagining ways to kill McGee and make it look like an accident. But I'm more concerned with Tim right now. Killing McGee will make me feel better for a little while, but it won't fix what he did to my son. That's what I need your help for."

"How can I help?" Jack asked. He was of course willing to do anything for his son and grandson, but he wasn't sure what he could to."

"Tim has very little experience with a good familial relationship. The closest he's come is his relationship with his sister. I want to show him what a family is supposed to be like. I'm hoping a couple of days here with family will pave the way a little. I wanna build his self-confidence."

"You really think a couple of days in this place are going to do it?" Jack asked skeptically. He didn't know much about what abuse like this did to a person, but he did know that two days was not enough to undue thirty years of torment, and he knew his son wasn't deluded enough to think it was.

"No, or course not, but I'm hoping that it'll help a little. I think that's the only way it's going to work. One step at a time," he said.

Jack nodded. "Well, I'll do whatever it takes to help."

"Good because here he comes," Gibbs said as he saw Tim approach the entrance.

Gibbs and Jack both stood up as Tim entered the store. "Hi," he said insecurely. He was still really nervous. He'd even driven around for an extra ten minutes just to avoid coming back here.

Jack gave him a reassuring smile and pulled him into a hug. "Welcome to the family, Tim."

Tim was taken completely off guard. He didn't know what he was expecting, but he definitely wasn't expecting this. After recovering from the shock, he returned the hug.

Gibbs watched his father and son embrace each other. He watched as his son finally relaxed in his father's arms. He smiled as Tim began to relax in his father's embrace. To him this one step closer to removing the hold Brad McGee had over his son. He still had a long way to go before that happened, but they had to start somewhere.


	18. Chapter 18

Tim was still pretty shocked when Jackson Gibbs finally pulled away from the hug. He hadn't expected that kind of reaction. He half expected a negative reaction, and the other half of him expected a handshake at the most. He certainly didn't expect the man to embrace him like that.

Jack laughed at his grandson's expression. "Didn't expect that, did ya?"

"No, sir," Tim said.

"What's with the 'sir'? I'm your grandfather, not some random old guy. It's Jack until you're more comfortable with something else," Jack said.

"Yes, sir, I mean Jack," Tim said. He was still really nervous, and he tended to fumble when he was nervous.

"Come sit down. Let's get to know each other," Jack said before going over to the small table and sitting down. Gibbs and Tim sat down as well. "So how are you, Tim?"

"I'm okay," Tim said. It wasn't exactly true though. He wasn't okay, and he knew it. He was constantly worried about being rejected by his newfound family, and now was no different. He was terrified that he was going to say the wrong thing.

"The job going okay?" Jack asked.

Tim nodded.

Jack turned to his son. "They're not kicking him off your team, are they?"

"Nope. Wouldn't let them?" Gibbs said.

Jack nodded. That was a good thing. The kid didn't' look like he could deal with anymore change right now. He'd only been in the room with him for a few minutes and he'd already noticed that his grandson had a massive chip on his shoulder.

There was an awkward silence between the three men. None of them quite knew what to say next.

"So tell me about yourself, Tim. I didn't really get a chance to know you the last time you were here," Jack said breaking the ice.

"Sure. What do you want to know?" Tim asked.

"Everything. What do you like to do with your free time?" Jack asked.

"Well, mostly I keep to myself. I mess with technology a lot. Computers mostly," Tim told him.

"Computers huh? I never really got into that stuff. I'm an old fashioned kind of guy," Jack said. Like his son, he wasn't much of a technology person.

"I second that," Gibbs said.

"You know, it's not really that hard. I could teach you if you want," Tim said.

"Sure, that sounds good," Jack said. Truthfully, he wasn't all that interested in learning about computers. He was more of a hands-on kind of guy, but if it would help his grandson relax around him, so be it.

"Yeah, Dad, Tim can help you no problem. He knows all about that stuff. He went to MIT," Gibbs said.

"MIT? That's one of those top notch schools, right?" Jack asked.

"It's not that big a deal," Tim said modestly.

"Don't let him fool you. He graduated at the top of his class," Gibbs said.

Tim's cheeks turned a bit red from embarrassment. He wasn't used to praise like this.

Jack smiled and patted his grandson on the back in congratulations. "Looks like we finally have a smart person in the family. The only question is where did he get it from?"

Gibbs gave his father a mock glare. "I resent that. I'm smart. He got it from me?"

"Really? And do you know how to use a computer?" he asked.

"I know how to hit it with a bat until it works like it's supposed to," Gibbs retorted.

"And when's the last time you had to replace your phone?" Jack asked with a smirk on his face.

"It's been awhile," Gibbs said.

Jack turned to his grandson. "Tim?"

"Thursday," Tim said laughing.

Gibbs lightly smacked his son on the arm. "You're supposed to be on my side."

If anything Tim laughed even harder.

Gibbs smiled. It looked like he was right about coming here. Tim was already starting to relax a bit. It wasn't over. He knew that. They still had a long road ahead of them before Tim gained self-confidence, but they had to start somewhere.

"Okay, how about we get out of here?" Jack asked. "We can pick up some steaks and fry 'em up at the house."

"Sounds good to me," Gibbs said as he stood up. "Tim?"

"Yeah, that sounds great," Tim said as he rose from his chair.

"Why don't you head to the car and warm it up? I'll be out in a second. I'm going to help your grandfather close up," Gibbs said.

"Sure," Tim said before heading out the door.

Gibbs turned back to his father. "So what did you think?"

"Well, you certainly weren't exaggerating. That young man really doesn't have much for self-esteem," Jack said sadly. He mostly knew that his son wasn't exaggerating about that fact, but it didn't stop him from hoping.

"It is pretty evident, isn't it? I still don't see how I could've missed it before," Gibbs said. He felt a little guilty about that. He should've known that something wasn't quite right with Tim.

"Well, you weren't his father before. He probably didn't feel he had to prove himself to you. And if he did, you probably assumed it was just an agent trying to prove himself to his boss," Jack said.

"Yeah, probably. I just wish I had known. I could've put an end to this a long time ago."

"No use dwelling on it now, Leroy. What's done is done. You just have to deal with what's happening now," Jack said.

Gibbs sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Come on, let's get out of here."

Jack nodded. He then grabbed his coat and keys before leading the way out of the store.


	19. Chapter 19

Gibbs watched as His father and his son were huddled over Tim's laptop. Tim was attempting to show Jack how it worked. Gibbs knew his father wasn't really following, but he was grateful that the man was at least pretending to be interested. Tim was in his prime when he spoke about technology. It was when he was the most relaxed.

"Hey, don't they have some sort of thing where you can send people messages over this thing?" Jack asked. He wasn't really interested, but he could already tell that teaching him all this was helping his grandson ease up a bit.

"Oh, yeah, email. What you do is you compose a message over the internet and you send it to the person's email account," Tim explained. "Here, I'll show you."

As Tim typed, Jack turned back and looked at his son, who mouthed a thank you. Jack nodded.

"Come on, work!" Tim said.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I'm just having a small problem accessing my email account," Tim said as he continued to try to get into to his account.

"You wanna borrow my bat, Tim?" Gibbs asked with a smirk on his face.

Tim's eyes widened and he put a protective arm around the computer. "No, I'm good thanks."

Jack laughed. "So what do you think the problem is?"

"Oh, it's probably nothing. The email server is probably just down or something. It just sucks that I can't show you how it works right now," Tim said.

"Well, you can always show me later," Jack said.

"In the meantime, the steaks are down," Gibbs said.

They both nodded and followed Gibbs into the kitchen.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A couple hours later, Gibbs walked out onto the porch, where he found Tim sitting on the step. He sat down next to him. "Hey."

"Hey."

"So how you doing so far?" Gibbs asked.

"Good. It's nice here," Tim said. He'd only been there a couple of hours, but he found it peaceful. He didn't have to worry about his mother and Brad showing up and treating him like crap. That in of itself made him feel at ease there. "This is where my mother used to live, right?"

"Yeah," Gibbs said stiffly. He was trying not to let his anger show, but he couldn't help it. Every time he even thought about Clare, he got angry.

They were both quiet for a few minutes before Tim finally spoke again. "Do you hater her?"'

Gibbs cringed. That wasn't a question he wanted to answer. He knew the answer, but he didn't want tell it to Tim. "It's complicated, okay?"

Tim felt himself get angry. That was a really stupid answer. That was just Gibbs' way of trying to avoid the question. "If you don't want to answer me, that's fine, but don't patronize me by saying it's complicated. We both know better," Tim said sharply. He instantly regretted his words. It was like he'd forgotten who he was talking to. He was sure Gibbs was about to turn away from him now.

"You know, normally I'd kick your ass for talking to me like that," Gibbs said. He never allowed anyone to speak to him in that manner. He certainly wasn't going to make a habit of letting his own son do it. In this case though, Tim was right to call him out. "But you're right. It's not complicated at all. It's pretty simple actually. Yeah, a big part of me hates her. I hate her for what she did to you. She let that scumbag abuse you so that she could keep up her happy little fairytale. I won't ever forgive her for that."

"I don't think I can either," Tim said. It was a little different when he thought Brad was his father. Then he could tell himself that his mother didn't stop it because she thought that as his father, Brad had the right to treat him as he saw fit. That wasn't true now. Now, he knew that she'd chosen Brad over him.

"You should know I told her to stay away from you," Gibbs said. He wanted his son to know exactly how he'd handled things with Clare. He didn't want him finding out somewhere else and thinking he went behind his back.

"You did?" Tim asked surprised. He knew that Gibbs had gone after Brad when he found out what the man was doing, but hearing how the man had tried to protect him through him for a loop. No one had ever done that for him before.

Gibbs nodded. "I wasn't trying to run your life or anything, but I thought it best for me to handle her for now. You're going through a lot right now, and I don't want her trying to push you back into that twisted web that she and her bastard husband live in."

Tim nodded that he understood. "What would've happened if you'd known the truth when I was a kid?"

"You'd have been with me," Gibbs said without hesitation. If he'd known that Tim was his son when he was a boy, he would've sought custody. There is no way he would've allowed this kind of damage to be done to Tim if he could've prevented it.

Tim was amazed. Gibbs didn't even have to think about it before answering. It gave him a little measure of comfort to hear Gibbs say that he would've protected him from his mother and stepfather.

Gibbs suddenly stood up. "Come on, let's go inside. I'm sure your grandfather has a deck of cards somewhere. We'll teach you how to play poker.

Tim smiled before following Gibbs into the house.


	20. Chapter 20

Gibbs stood in the living room with his father as he was getting ready to leave. Tim was upstairs getting his things together. "Thanks for all your help, Dad."

Jack nodded. "I was glad to. You think it did any good?"

"Yeah, I think it did. I saw Tim more relaxed than I have in a long time. Maybe even more than he's ever been relaxed. He gained something this weekend. I just hope he can keep it when we get back to DC," Gibbs said. He was glad to say that Tim was a little better after this weekend. He wouldn't delude himself into believing it was over though. He couldn't undue thirty-three years of damage in two days. It was going to be a long time before Tim was okay.

"Those idiots he used to call parents still there?" Jack asked.

"Not if they know what's good for them. I made myself very clear. It is in their best interests to go back to wherever they came from," Gibbs said.

"Well, we don't call them idiots for nothing. People like that don't know what's good for them," he said.

"Well, if they're stupid enough to not listen, I guess I'll just have to reinforce the message. I won't let them hurt my son," Gibbs said with conviction. He didn't care what he had to do to get rid of the McGee's. They wouldn't hurt Tim again.

"You're a good father, Leroy. You've known Tim was your son for two weeks, and that kid already knows he can count on you," Jack said.

Gibbs shook his head sadly. He wished that were true. He wouldn't be nearly as worried if it were. "No, Dad, he doesn't. And that's not his fault or mine. He's completely insecure in my feelings for him. He doesn't really believe I'm there for him."

"True, but you said it yourself; he's a little better now. And that is because of you," Jack said.

Just then, Tim came downstairs with his bag. "You ready to go?" Gibbs asked him.

"Yeah, all set," Tim said.

"Hey, can I get a minute with my grandson, Leroy?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, sure," Gibbs said before quickly hugging his father. "I'll see you later, Dad." He then walked out of the house.

Once his son was gone, Jack went over and gave Tim a big hug. "It was great to see you. You keep in touch, you hear?"

Tim smiled. "I will."

"Hey, maybe now that I know how to do that Email thing, I can send you messages," Jack said.

"That'd be great," Tim said eagerly. It had felt really good to know that he'd taught his grandfather how to do something, and that maybe it brought them closer.

"Maybe you can teach your dad how to do that too," Jack said in way of a joke. He knew that if Tim even tried to teach his father that, it would be a disaster.

"No offense, Jack, but I kinda need to keep my computer in one piece," Tim joked.

Jack laughed. "Well, in that case, forget I said anything. That might just end in the destruction of your computer."

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me. He was dead serious when he was talking about taking a bat to it."

"I'm sure. Anyway, I hope you had a good time," he said.

"I did. Actually, this is the best time I've had in a while," Tim said genuinely. This weekend was actually sort of relaxing to him. It was the first time he'd ever let his guard down with anyone other than Sarah.

Jack hugged him once more. "Alright, you take care of yourself, okay?"

"I will. See you later," Tim said before walking out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, Gibbs pulled up to Tim's apartment building. Tim had decided to go back to his place now. "You sure you don't want to come back to the house?" The truth was he didn't want Tim to go. He'd gotten used to his son staying with him.

"Yeah. I have to go home sometime, right?" Tim asked. As much as he didn't want to, he had to get back to his own apartment. He was an adult. He needed to start acting like it again. Also, he didn't want to tempt fate. The longer he stayed with Gibbs, the more likely it was that Gibbs would get sick of him and back away from him. He didn't want to take that risk.

"My place is your home too, Tim. Remember that," Gibbs said.

Tim nodded. "I will. I'll see you tomorrow,"

"Okay."

Tim then grabbed his things and got out of the car.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked to his apartment and unlocked the door. He was about to go inside, but stopped dead in his tracks. The place was a disaster area. There were thing tossed on the floor like it had been ransacked.

Tim quickly took out his gun and cautiously entered the apartment. He checked the kitchen and living room first. He found there they were secure. He then went into his bedroom. He found it in the same state as the rest of the apartment. It was the same when he checked the bathroom.

After making sure whoever did this was gone, Tim looked around. Nothing seemed to be taken. Everything that a burglar would take like the TV and stereo were still there. Whoever did this seemed to be content to just destroy everything he owned?

Tim sat down on the couch and placed his head in his hands. It didn't take a genius to figure out who was responsible for this. Whoever did this was trying to hurt him, and there was only one person he could think of that would want to do that. Brad did this. That was pretty obvious. he was worried because Brad was coming after him unlike he ever had before. In the past, Brad had only used words to screw with him. Now he was escalating. He was trying to destroy him. And he wasn't going to stop until he did.


	21. Chapter 21

Tim opened his front door and stepped aside to let Sarah in. "Thanks for coming."

"Yeah, of course. Oh my God," Sarah said when she finally got a good look at her brother's apartment. It was completely trashed. There was furniture turned over, papers and glass all over the floor. It was a mess. "You came home to this?"

"Yeah," Tim said as he closed the door. "It must have happened while I was in Stillwater because I stopped here right before we left."

"Have you called the police?" Sarah asked.

"No. There's no point. They would just make me file me out a bunch of paperwork and then they'd put my file in a box with a thousand others," Tim said sadly. As sad as it was, most burglaries were never solved.

"But you know who did this," Sarah said. She hated it, but she knew her father was behind this, and father or not, he needed to pay for this.

"I can't prove it though. There's no evidence to prove who did this. Our beliefs aren't going to be enough," Tim said.

"Did you tell your father about this?" Sarah asked.

"No, and you can't tell him either. Promise me," Tim begged. He didn't want Gibbs to know what happened. He didn't want to look any weaker than he already did.

"No. What are you crazy? I'm not going to do that. You need to tell him," Sarah said. She wasn't going to promise that. She felt that Gibbs needed to know. He might be the only one that could stop her father.

"I can't. He already thinks I'm a wimp. The last thing I need is that to get worse," Tim said. Gibbs had never actually told him that, but he couldn't help but think that that's what he must think. He couldn't even defend himself against a few harsh words.

"He does not think that, Tim," Sarah said. She might not know Agent Gibbs that well, but from what she'd seen of him, she knew he was a good man.

Tim sighed. "Look, I can handle this, okay?"

"No, you can't. He's getting worse, Tim. He destroyed your apartment," Sarah reminded him. She was really worried. It wasn't just words anymore. Not that that wasn't bad enough, but now he was taking things to a whole new level. She didn't want to think her father would physically hurt Tim, but she couldn't be sure about that anymore either.

"I'll be fine. If it gets worse, I'll tell Gibbs myself," Tim said. He felt guilty for saying it because it was a lie. He had no intention of mentioning any of this to Gibbs under any circumstances. He needed to deal with all of this himself. He couldn't let himself rely on Gibbs. He couldn't rely on anyone.

Sarah sighed. She really didn't like this. "Okay, here's the deal. I won't say anything for now, but if it gets worse, or I see Gibbs and he asks me if anything's happened, I will tell him," Sarah said.

Tim nodded. It wasn't as good as a promise not to say anything, but it was better than nothing. "Thanks."

"Okay, let's get this place cleaned up," Sarah said as she started to pick some things up off the floor.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs looked up as Tim entered the bullpen. "Morning, Tim."

"Morning," Tim said as he continued to walk to his desk without looking up at Gibbs. He knew if he looked up, Gibbs would know that something was wrong, and he didn't want that. He had to figure out a way to hide this.

Gibbs eyed his son suspiciously. Once again, he was hiding something. The fact that Tim refused to look at him proved that. _What the hell happened now? _Gibbs didn't have much time to contemplate that because his phone began to ring. He quickly it up. "Yeah, Gibbs?" He quickly got all the pertinent information and then stood up. "Grab your gear. We've got a dead marine at Quantico," he said before heading towards the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

A few hours later, Gibbs entered autopsy. He wanted to get some advice from Ducky about what to do about Tim.

"Oh, Hello, Jethro. I'm afraid I don't have anything for you on our dead marine just yet," Ducky said.

"Yeah, that's not why I'm here, Duck. I need some advice," Gibbs said.

"I assume this has something to do with Timothy. I take it the weekend didn't go as well as you'd hoped," Ducky said.

"Actually it went great. It was a little awkward at first, but Tim finally relaxed a bit. He finally started to let his guard down a little," he said.

"Then what's the problem?" Asked a confused Ducky. If everything was going alright then why did Jethro seem so worried?

"I don't know, and that's the problem. He was fine when I dropped him off last night. I mean, obviously he still had a lot to work out, but he was a little better. Then he walks into the office this morning even worse than he was before. He won't even look at me, and he barely talks to me unless he has to," Gibbs explained.

"And you have no idea why?" Ducky asked.

Gibbs shook his head. "My guess is that he had another run in with McGee, but he won't talk to me about it. I mean, if it's happening I need to know about it," he said in frustration. He understood Tim's reluctance to trust him, but this couldn't keep going on. He couldn't keep hiding these kinds of things from him.

"Maybe you need to make him tell you what's going on," Ducky said.

"What do you mean, yell at him? I can't do that Ducky."

"You've done it before?" Ducky reminded him.

Gibbs sighed. It was true, he'd yelled at Tim, and the others as well when they screwed up or did things to put themselves or others at risk, but this was different. Tim already believed that he was going to abandon him. Yelling at him might make that worse. "It's different now."

Ducky nodded. "You feel the need to be careful around him because of what he's been through. That is understandable, but there is such a thing as being too kind."

"What do you mean?" asked Gibbs.

"You are Timothy's father. A part of that is telling him he's doing wrong when you need to," he said.

"I know that, but Tim is really sensitive. I don't want to risk pushing him further away," Gibbs said.

"You're afraid that Timothy will start to see you in the same light as his stepfather. You needn't be. The only way that would happen is if you started being intentionally cruel, something I know you'd never do. You're not going to push him away by being harsh with him when he needs it. In fact, by not doing so, you may be doing him more harm than good," Ducky said.

"How do you mean?" Gibbs asked.

"Timothy needs to see you for who you are. His father, for better or worse. He needs you to tell him what you expect from him, so that he'll know where he stands with you. Also, right now he's afraid that you will abandon him the second he does something you don't like. This may be your chance to prove to him that that won't happen," Ducky said.

Gibbs thought about it for a minute. Ducky was probably right. He wasn't doing Tim any favors by treating him with kid gloves all the time. Eventually, he was going to have to take the hard line with Tim. That time might be now. Tim needed to know that he couldn't keep things from him like this. "Thanks, Duck," he said before walked out of Autopsy.


	22. Chapter 22

At the end of the day, Gibbs got his things together and started to leave. He paused when he got to Tim's desk, who was also getting ready to leave. "Tim, come with me."

Tim looked up surprised. Gibbs had already dismissed them for the night. That meant Gibbs wanted to talk to him as his son, not his agent. Tim really didn't want to do that. It had taken everything he had to hide the uneasiness he'd been feeling since last night. "Um, actually, I just want to get home. I'm kind of tired."

"It wasn't a request, Tim. Now," Gibbs said quietly. It was clear that it was an order though.

Tim didn't really have time to figure out how he felt about the stern order because Gibbs was already heading towards the elevator, and it was clear he expected Tim to follow. He quickly grabbed his things and jogged to catch up.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs led Tim into the living room and pointed to the couch. "Sit down."

Tim did so wordlessly. On the inside, he was squirming. He could tell Gibbs was mad at him. He didn't know why though. What had he done? He'd been trying really hard not to do anything to anger the man. Was this just Gibbs finally having enough of him? If so, why bring him back here? Why not just tell him to stay away?

Gibbs sat down in a nearby chair and leaned forward. "There something you wanna tell me, Tim?"

Tim shook his head and stared at the floor. He began to realize what this was about. Gibbs knew something about what had happened last night. Either Gibbs talked to Sarah, or he just hadn't done a good enough job hiding things, which was entirely possible.

"Eyes on me," Gibbs ordered

Tim slowly lifted his head to look at Gibbs, who had a stern look on his face.

"Something happened to you last night and I want to know what it is now," Gibbs said. He hoping Ducky was right about him taking a harder line with Tim. He hoped this wasn't going to push his son even further away.

"I don't know what you're-"

"Don't lie to me!" he said sharply. He hated being lied to by anyone. He would be damned if he tolerated it from his own son. "Now you've been hiding something from me all day and I want to know what."

"I can handle it," Tim said. He'd given up trying to hide that something was off. It was obvious that Gibbs wouldn't believe him, and lying was just pissing the man off.

"Obviously you can't. Tell me what's going on so I can help you," Gibbs said. "Now, Tim!" he added forcefully when his son didn't answer right away.

"I…I can't prove anything. I could be wrong," Tim said. He knew he wasn't wrong though. It had been Brad that trashed his apartment.

"Let me be the judge of that."

Tim sighed and shifted uncomfortable. He knew he was going to tell. Gibbs wasn't going to let it go until he did. "After you dropped me off, I went inside to find that someone had trashed my apartment."

Anger took over completely after hearing that. He'd come to the same conclusion he was sure Tim had. This had McGee's hands all over it. The bastard had broken into Tim's house while they were out of town and ransacked it. Obviously Brad McGee was dumber than he thought.

Gibbs' anger didn't stop with McGee though. He was also angry at himself and Tim as well. He was angry at himself for not going inside with Tim, and he was mad at Tim for trying to hide it from him.

In that moment, Gibbs made a decision. Ducky was right. It was time to stop this. He couldn't let Tim think it was okay to keep things from him. It was time for him to step up as Tim's father in every way. "What the hell were you thinking keeping something like this from me? This isn't a small thing, Tim. He vandalized your apartment. Why would you hide this from me?"

Tim shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have an answer that Gibbs would accept. The reason he had would probably seem really stupid.

"Oh, I think you do know? You keep this from me for a reason, and we're not moving until you tell me what it is," Gibbs informed him.

"I…I didn't think it was your problem," Tim tried. It wasn't the real reason, but it was the only one that didn't make him feel like a loser.

"Not my problem? You are my son. Your problems are my problems. And that's not the real answer, is it?" Gibbs asked. He knew that the answer his son gave him was just to get him to back off.

Tim looked away.

"I'm waiting," he pressed.

"I didn't want you to see me as weaker than you already do," Tim finally said.

"Tim, do you have a layout of my brain?" Gibbs asked.

Tim looked at him. "What?"

"You must. How else could you possibly know what I'm thinking?" Gibbs asked. He was hoping a new approach would get through to Tim a little more.

"It's what everyone thinks," Tim said sadly.

"How do you know? Because he told you so? That bastard doesn't know what I think. He doesn't know what Tony, Ziva, Abby, or Ducky thinks. No one thinks you're weak. I don't think you're weak because of how the way McGee treats you affects you. He taught you to react that way. He gets off on it. It's something he does to make himself feel like a man. That doesn't make you weak, it makes him weak," Gibbs said. As far as he was concerned, McGee was the weak on. He was the one that had to prey on the defenseless to make himself feel powerful. That was the act of a coward.

Tim looked down once more. He couldn't bring himself to keep looking Gibbs in the eye.

"Look at me," Gibbs ordered. He waited for Tim's eyes to reach his before he continued. "You will not keep things like this from me again. Do you understand me? I will not have you putting your safety on the line."

"My safety? How did I put my safety at risk?" Tim asked.

"He trashed your apartment, Tim. He's getting worse. What if he came after you again? He could've come at you again worse than before, and I would have no reason to think he'd do it. I wouldn't be able to protect you because I would've been kept in the dark. That's unacceptable," Gibbs said. "I won't lose you."

"But you're mad at me," Tim said. He didn't' really understand why Gibbs was still worrying about him when he was so mad at him.

Gibbs sighed as he was once again reminded of the many issues his son had. "Yeah, I am, but just because I'm mad that doesn't mean I'm going to walk away from you. No matter what you do to piss me off, I'm always going to forgive you. I'm still your father and I still love you."

Tim looked at him surprised. That was the first Gibbs had told him he loved him. "Y…you do?"

Gibbs stood up from his chair and approached his son. "Yeah I do. Come here," Gibbs said as he held his arms out.

Tim stood up and hurled himself into the older man's arms. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright, son. I forgive you. Just don't hide things like this from me again," Gibbs said as he held his son tightly.

"I won't… Dad."


	23. Chapter 23

After changing his clothes, Gibbs walked back downstairs and into the living room. He found Tim sitting there on his laptop. "Hey, come on. Give me a hand on with the boat."

Tim looked up surprised. He hadn't been expecting that. "I… I don't know how. I don't want to mess it up."

"You won't. Come on, I'll show you," Gibbs said before heading down to the basement.

Tim quickly got up and followed his father down to the basement.

Gibbs grabbed a sander and went over to the boat. "Come here and watch me. You're going to wanna do it with the grain like this," he said before demonstrating. "Here, you try."

Tim hesitantly took the offered tool and began to sand. He then looked over at his father for reassurance that he was doing it right.

Gibbs nodded and smiled before grabbing another sander and going to the other side of the boat.

"What happens now?" Tim asked.

"With what?" Gibbs asked. That question could refer to a lot of things. They had a lot going on right now.

"With everything. I just don't know where to go from here. I know you want me to trust that you won't turn against me, but a part of me just doesn't know how. And then there's the whole Brad thing. He's not going to go away. I think he's proved that," Tim said

"I'm not going to let him hurt you, son," Gibbs promised. He was going to handle the McGee thing. He would go tonight, but he felt that his son needed him right now. McGee could wait until tomorrow.

"He's getting worse. Until last night, he'd never gone any further than to insult me. Now he's trying to destroy my entire life. He won't leave me alone until he does," said a worried Tim.

Gibbs stopped sanding for a minute and looked his son directly in the eye. "I will destroy him before he has the chance to hurt you."

"He hurts me every day, Dad," Tim said.

Gibbs inwardly smiled at the last word his son said. He couldn't get enough of Tim calling him that. When he said it the first time, Gibbs felt his heart melt. It was the same way he felt the first time Kelly said it. That happiness was hindered by sadness from the rest of his son's statement just now. I pained him that his son was hurting so bad. "I know."

"I know that I shouldn't feel the way I do. I know the way I think is messed up. A part of me does anyway. But I can't help it. I hear you say that you're never going to look at me the way he does, and I know I should believe you, but something just won't let me. I don't know if that makes sense," Tim said.

"It makes sense, Tim. This isn't your fault. It's McGee's fault. You feel this way because he ingrained it into your brain your entire life. You believe what you've been taught. If you're taught that you're worthless from a young age, pretty soon you believe it. And it seems crazy to most, but not someone who's never known any different," Gibbs explained.

"So how do I make it stop?" he asked. He didn't want to feel this way. He hated the fear that his father was going to turn against him.

Gibbs thought for a minute about how to answer it. "Take it one day at a time. It's not all going to just go away overnight. It's going to take a long time before anything really seems like it's changed. One day though, you're going to wake up and realize that you're not afraid of this anymore. And I will help you in any way I can."

"I think you kind of already have," Tim said. When he really thought about it, he was much better than he was because of his father.

"How so?"

"Well, you saw how I was a few years ago. I couldn't even manage a complete sentence without stuttering," Tim said.

Gibbs did indeed remember that. Tim was really awkward and nervous back then. At the time, Gibbs thought was just because he was green, but now he knew better. It had nothing to do with being a rookie. It was a result of how he was raised. "And you think I'm the reason that changed."

"Yeah, I do. I'll admit, I was scared to death of you the first time I met you, which I'm sure was your intention," Tim said knowingly.

Gibbs smirked. That certainly was his intention. Tim was a rookie then. He considered it his job to scare the rookies a little.

"That didn't really change for a long time. I was still terrified of you for a long time, but in time you became someone that I respected. I thought of you as a father long before I knew the truth. You were the first person to ever tell me I did a good job," Tim said.

Gibbs remembered that day. Tim looked like a little kid on Christmas day. It was amazing how two words could affect someone.

"I guess it wasn't much, but it certainly helped. It didn't take everything away, or get rid of my fear of being abandoned, but it meant something. You made me feel like I mattered" Tim said.

"You do matter, Tim. Don't ever forget that," Gibbs said.

"I'll try not to, but it gets hard sometimes," Tim said.

"I know it does, and if you need me to, I'll be here to say it again. I've said it many times before and I'll say it again. But I'll also tell you if you screw up again too," Gibbs said he wanted to make it very clear that it went both ways. He would tell his son he loved him when he needed to, but he would also chew him out if did something stupid.

"I'm sorry about hiding the truth about what happened last night," Tim said.

"It's over. We've already dealt with that. You're forgiven. Just don't ever lie or keep secrets from me again. It's not acceptable," he said.

Tim nodded.

"If for some reason you did though, I might get mad and yell, but I will never turn away from you. Nothing you ever do could ever make me do that," Gibbs said firmly.

"Nothing?" Tim asked.

"Nothing. I love you, son. That's unconditional."

"I love you too, Dad," Tim said. They both then went into a comfortable silence as they turned back to the boat.


	24. Chapter 24

The next day, Sarah walked over to her parents' hotel room and knocked on the door. It was time for her to have it out with her parents over what they were doing to Tim.

The door was opened a second later by Clare. "Oh, hey, sweetie."

"Mom," Sarah said coldly before walking past her and into the room. "Where's Dad?"

"He went home," Clare said as she closed the door. "He had to get back to base."

"When did he leave?" Sarah asked. She was glad to hear he was gone, though that was cowardice as far as she was concerned. He'd destroyed Tim's apartment and then ran before Tim's father came after him.

"Last Friday. He wanted to say goodbye, but you wouldn't answer your phone when he tried to arrange a meeting," Clare explained.

"No, he didn't. He vandalized Tim's apartment just a couple of days ago," Sarah informed her.

"What? No, your father would never do that," Clair said.

"Oh, Wake up, Mom!" Sarah said angrily. She was getting really tired of her mother defending her father. "Dad is not this great person that you want to paint him as. He's been torturing Tim his whole life? You know Tim, right? Your son?"

"Sarah, you don't understand."

"You're damn right I don't understand. And I don't want to understand. I don't want to understand how you could sit back and watch as your son is belittled? What kind of person does that? What kind of mother does that?" Sarah asked.

"That's a very good question," came a third voice.

Sarah turned and saw that Agent Gibbs had come in.

Gibbs walked further into the room and glared at Clare. "I would've knocked, but since you and your worthless husband can't respect other people's property, I didn't feel the need to respect yours."

"Tim told you?" Sarah asked surprised. She hadn't expected that. Tim had been adamant about keeping what happened from his father.

"After a little persuasion," Gibbs said.

"Jethro, what did you do to Tim?" Clare asked.

Gibbs gave Clare the iciest look he could muster. He couldn't believe the nerve of this woman. What right did she have to accuse him of hurting Tim? "Are you kidding me? Now you're worried about our son? I would never hurt Tim. That's your department."

"That's not true," Clare protested.

"No? So you didn't lie to him his whole life, allowing the son of a bitch you married to treat him worse than vermin? You didn't sit back and watch as Tim's self-esteem and sense of worth were destroyed? You hurt Tim more than anything," Gibbs said.

"What do you want from me?" Clare asked.

"I want the two of you bottom feeders to stay away from my son," Gibbs said steely. "Where the hell is the bastard anyway? I have a few choice words for him."

"He went home. He didn't do what you came here to accuse him of," Clare said glaring.

"If he left, why didn't you go with him?" Gibbs asked. He of course knew that McGee hadn't gone anywhere. The piece of crap was just hiding like the coward he was.

"I stayed to make things right with Tim," she said.

"You're not getting anywhere near, Tim. What part of that didn't you understand the last time we spoke?" Gibbs asked. He'd made himself very clear the last time he was there. Clare wasn't going to see Tim until Tim was able to make that choice for himself without being influenced by what she or McGee said to him.

"You can't stop me from seeing him, Jethro. I'm his mother!" Clare yelled.

"You're no mother. No mother could act so indifferent to someone verbally attacker their child and vandalizing his apartment. No, you're not a mother. You're a monster. And I will do whatever it takes to keep you away from my son. He doesn't need someone like you in his life. He sees enough dirt bags on the job; he doesn't need to come home to one. Tim is no longer your problem. He's mine. And I'm going to make sure that you never get the chance to hurt him again," Gibbs said before starting towards the door. He turned around at the last second. "Oh, and by the way. The next time you talk to your bastard, make sure to tell him from me that there is not a place on this earth for him to hide. I will find him, and I will make him regret that he ever heard Tim's name. Sarah, a word please," he said before walking out the door.

Sarah glared at her mother once more before going to catch up with Gibbs. "What's up?"

"Have you heard from your father at all?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, he has tried to call me a couple of times, but I ignored the calls. I was too furious to talk to him. If I knew where he was, I would tell you. He deserves whatever he gets after this last stunt," Sarah said angrily. A part of her would always love her father, but she was sick of watching him hurt her brother. It needed to stop. And if Gibbs had to beat the crap out of him to make him stop, so be it.

"I know you would, Sarah. That's not why I asked," Gibbs said.

"Then why?" she asked

"Your father's hatred for Tim is getting worse. He's already starting to escalate. It's getting to the point where I'm afraid of what he's going to do next," Gibbs said seriously.

"You think he's going to try to physically hurt Tim?" Sarah asked. She knew it was possible. She would have to be stupid not to consider it, but she really didn't want to think about it.

"Or you. You've been very vocal about how you feel about his treatment of Tim. He probably sees it as you choosing Tim over him," Gibbs explained.

"Well, that's kind of how it is," Sarah said. She was getting to the point where she was ready to walk away from her parents if they didn't leave Tim alone.

"And that's even more reason to be cautious. This obsessive need to hurt your brother is growing. I'm afraid it will turn to you as well if he thinks that Tim has taken you from him," Gibbs said. He'd already been quite concerned for both Tim and Sarah before, but now that McGee was in the wind, that concern grew.

"I… I can't imagine my father hurting me. I mean don't get me wrong, I know he's a horrible person, but he's never done anything to hurt me," Sarah said.

"That was before. He's getting worse now. I just want you to be careful. In fact, maybe you should come stay with us until I find a way to deal with him," Gibbs suggested.

Sarah shook her head. "No. You might be right about my father, but I'm not going to walk away from my life. Besides, if he's going to go after anyone, it's going to be Tim. He's the one you should be worried about."

"Oh, trust me, I am, but I'm also worried about you. I don't want to see you get hurt either."

Sarah smiled. "I appreciate that, and I promise to be careful, but I'm not going to hide."

"Okay," Gibbs said. For now, he would let it be her decision, but if it got any worse, he would take the decision out of her hands. "I better get to work. If you hear from your father, let me know."

Sarah nodded.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim sat at his desk. He occasionally glanced at his father's desk. He was late. It didn't take a genius to figure out where he was though. He knew his father well enough to know that the man would not just leave things alone after finding out what happened with Brad. He was paying him a visit.

"So where is he, Probie?" Tony asked.

"Huh?" Tim asked.

"Gibbs. Where is he? He's late. He's never late," Tony said.

"He said he had to do something before he came in," answered. He then turned back to his computer after hearing a ping, indicating that he had an email. He opened up the email and started to pale as he began to read.

_Did you get my welcome home present, you worthless piece of trash. There's more where that came from too. Don't think that just because you know the truth that means you're free. You'll never be free of me. I'm going to make it my life's mission to ruin you._

Tim pulled out of the email and put his hand on his forehead. Why was this happening to him? Why couldn't Brad just leave him alone? When was enough going to be enough?

"Are you alright, Tim?" Ziva asked concerned. She could see that something was wrong.

"I'm fine," Tim said before getting up and walking towards the elevator. He had to get out of there before he completely lost it in front of everyone.


	25. Chapter 25

Tim stood over one of the sinks in the men's room and splashed water over his face. He needed to calm down. He couldn't flip out here. This was where he worked. Anywhere else was okay, but here. He needed to be in control here.

"Tim?"

Tim recognized the voice immediately as belonging to Tony. "I'm fine, Tony."

"You're a sucky liar, Probie. What happened?" Tony asked concerned.

"It doesn't matter," Tim said as he leaned over the sink with his hands.

"Yeah, it does. Something happened to you back there. Everything was fine one minute and then you freaked out. Tell me what happened. Maybe I can help," Tony said.

"You can't," Tim said. No one could help him. No one could help because no one could understand what this was like.

"Is this about that creep you used to call your father," Tony asked. Five minutes with that guy and he could tell the guy was a real creep.

Tim didn't answer. He just continued to look down at the empty sink.

"Look, I understand. I know what it's like to have issues with your father, or in your case, stepfathers. I get what it does to-"

"No, you don't!" Tim yelled as he stood up. "Don't pretend you know how I feel. You don't! Your father ignored you. I wish Brad would ignore me. I wish he'd forget I ever existed, but he won't. He won't leave me alone, Tony. He verbally trashes me whenever he has the chance, he vandalized my apartment, and today he sent me a threatening email. So don't sit here and tell me you know how I feel because you don't."

Tony was shocked by his friend's outburst. He hadn't realized it was that bad. He knew that Tim's stepdad was a bastard, but he had no idea that man was harassing him like this. Vandalizing his apartment and threatening him? That was beyond obsessive.

Tony placed a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Tim. I didn't know it was that bad."

Tim placed his hands over his face. "I just want him to go away and leave me alone."

"Does Gibbs know about this?" Tony asked. He knew if Gibbs did know, the pathetic excuse for a human being wouldn't be alive for much longer.

Tim nodded. "He knows about everything accept the threatening note. That just happened now."

"If he trashed your place, why isn't he in jail?" Tony asked.

"Because I can't prove it. He didn't leave any evidence that he was there. I know it was him though. He's the only one I know who would do something like this. Plus, he pretty much admitted it in the email," Tim explained.

"It's going to be okay, Tim," Tony said. Even as he said it, he knew it sounded really lame, but he didn't know what else to say.

Tim glared at him. "In what world? He's haunting me, Tony. He won't leave me alone. He's invaded every aspect of my life. At least before, he was content with just torturing me on the rare occasion that I would go to see him and my mother. Now he's everywhere. It's like me finding out the truth has just set him off even further."

Tony opened his mouth to speak, but promptly shut it. There was nothing he could say to make Tim feel better. It seemed better to just let him vent.

"God, why is he doing this to me? It's not like I asked for this. I never asked to be lied to about who my father was. I never asked to be raised by someone who hates me. Someone who never did anything but make me feel like a worthless mistake," Tim said miserably.

Tony was horrified by the last comment. Tim didn't really think he was worthless, did he. If he did, it made sense given that he was treated so badly, but he really didn't want to think about his friend being treated like that. Suddenly Gibbs' warning about his jokes made sense. This was the reason why Gibbs wanted him to back off. He was trying to undo the damage that had been done. "You're not worthless, Tim."

"So people keep saying," Tim said without looking at him.

Just then, someone could be heard coming in. Tony turned and saw that it was Gibbs. "Hey, Boss."

Gibbs looked over at his son, who looked wrecked. "Tony, go back to work."

"Going back to work, Boss," Tony said, relieved that Gibbs was there. He would know how to help Tim a lot more than Tony could.

Once Tony was gone, Gibbs walked over to his son. "Come on, sit down," he said before helping him to the floor. The kid looked like hell. He needed to sit before he collapsed. He then sat down himself. "What happened? Ziva told me you freaked out and ran out."

Tim buried his face in his hands. He didn't want to say it again, especially not to Gibbs. He felt like such a wimp when he did.

Gibbs gently removed Tim's hands from his face and forced the younger man to look at him. "Tim, I believe we just had a conversation about keeping secrets," he said calmly, but firmly.

Tim was quiet for a few minutes, but finally spoke. "I got an email from Brad. He all but admitted to trashing my place, and then he told me he wasn't done. He's coming after me, Dad. He's not going to leave me alone."

Gibbs became alarmed. This was really starting to scare him. The verbal abuse mostly just pissed him off and made him want to protect Tim from anymore verbal assaults. Now with the vandalism and threats, he was really starting to get scared for Tim's safety. "What exactly did the email say?"

"Just that he hoped I got the welcome home he left me and that there was more where that came from. He said it wasn't over just because I knew he was my father," Tim explained.

"Alright, until this is over, you don't go anywhere without me," Gibbs said. He was not going to take chances with Tim's safety.

"Is that really necessary?" Tim asked. He didn't like that. He didn't want to feel any more useless than he already did.

"Your damn right it's necessary. I'm not going to let the bastard get to you. I will not risk losing you," Gibbs said firmly. He'd already lost one child, he would not risk losing another.

Tim yelled out in frustration. "Why can't he just leave me alone. Why does he hate me so much."

Gibbs put an arm around his son's shoulders. "I'm sorry, son. You don't deserve this. I'm going to fix this for you, I promise."

"I just don't understand this. It can't just be because I'm not his son. He would just ignore me if that was the case. He seems to really hate me, and I don't understand why," Tim said. He didn't understand what he did to make Brad hate him so much.

"It's not about you, Tim. At least it wasn't at first. It was about his hated for me. He wanted to hurt you to stick it to me. Now he's made his hatred for me about you," Gibbs sadly. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty. This was happening because of McGee's hatred for him. He hated that Tim had to pay for something that was essentially about him.

"Dad, it's not your fault," Tim said.

Gibbs nodded. "I'll try to remember that if you'll try to remember that it's not yours either."

"Okay," Tim said.

"Alright. Are you alright to go back to your desk for a while."

"Yeah, I think so," Tim said as he stood up.

"Go on then. I'll be there in a minute," Gibbs said as he stood up himself.

Tim nodded and headed for the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs burst into Vance's office. He was hoping that Vance could help him with the McGee situation.

"Well, hello, Gibbs. It just isn't a typical day without you bursting into my office without permission, is it?" Vance quipped.

"I need your help, Leon," Gibbs said.

"What is it? Last time I checked you didn't have any open cases," Vance said.

"It's not work related."

"Is this about Mc… Tim?" Vance asked. He'd gotten the recent memo about Tim not wanting to be called 'McGee.'

"Yeah. His stepfather is targeting him," Gibbs told him.

Vance leaned forward in his chair. "Targeting him how?"

Gibbs sat down in the chair across from the director and explained the whole situation to the other man. "I gotta tell you, Leon, I'm worried. The son of a bitch is escalating. He's turning into a real stalker."

"Well, I can definitely see why you're so concerned. Vandalism and threats? This is definitely a guy who seems likely to get violent and dangerous. Can you prove that he's done all these things," Vance asked.

"No, but I know he did it. So does Tim. No one else would come after him like this," he said.

"What about Tim's mother? What does she say about all this?" Vance wondered. Through all of this, Gibbs hadn't mentioned the young agent's mother once.

Gibbs growled. "She's so far up McGee's ass that she couldn't seem to care less what he does to Tim. It's truly pathetic, Leon."

"You're kidding me," Vance said. He couldn't imagine a mother turning her back on her own son. What kind of mother did that.

"I wish I was. Tim deserves so much better than that."

"What do you need me to do?" Vance asked.

"I need my son protected," he said.

"You want a protection detail for him?" Vance asked.

Gibbs nodded. "He's staying with me until this whole thing is over, so I'm pretty sure he'll be alright, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Of course not. You have your protection detail. I'll also contact McGee's CO in the Navy and see if he can't help us track him down," Vance said.

"Thanks, Leon," Gibbs said appreciatively. Vance was going above and beyond here. There was really no proof of what McGee did. Vance didn't have to try to track him down.

Vance nodded. "I don't like the idea of my agents being targeted. Anything else?"

"Give Tim and me the rest of the day off? I need to make sure Tim's sister is safe as well and I don't want to leave Tim alone anywhere for any reason," Gibbs said. He'd told Sarah that he'd let her deal with this her own way, but now with this latest stunt, all bets were off. He wasn't going to take risks with Sarah's safety. She was going to stay with him whether she liked it or not.

"Sure," Vance said.

"Thanks," he said again before getting up and walking out of the room.


	26. Chapter 26

Tim looked in his rearview mirror from the passenger seat as his father drove. He noticed that a car had been behind them for a while now. "Dad, I think someone's following us."

"I know," Gibbs said casually.

"You do?" Tim asked. He didn't know why he was so surprised though. His father always knew things that no one else seemed to.

"Yup. It's Matheson and Stevens," Gibbs said.

"From work? Why would they be…?" He trailed off as his father gave him a look, silently telling him everything he needed to know. He groaned. "Protection detail? Come on, Dad."

"Come on, nothing. Until this is over, you will have agents on you twenty-four/seven," Gibbs said. He knew his son wouldn't like the idea of being guarded, but that was just too bad. He wasn't going to take risks with his safety.

"So what, I'm just supposed to walk around with two shadows following me around wherever I go?" Tim asked. He didn't like this at all. It was bad enough that Brad affected his mind. Now he it seemed he was taking over his whole life.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it," Gibbs said.

"Why do I have to do this? Aren't you the one that said I shouldn't let him hurt me like this anymore?" Tim asked.

"I said that I didn't want you to let him put his crap on you, and I meant that, but it has now taken a different turn. He's no longer just using words to hurt you. He's getting worse. He trashed your apartment and has started sending you threatening messages. I think we both know where this is going, and I'm not going to take risks with your life," Gibbs said.

"This isn't fair. I shouldn't have to have people watching me like this," Tim said in frustration. He knew he probably sounded like a little kid right now, but he didn't care. He hated this. He hated that Brad kept hurting him like this. Why couldn't he just go away and leave him be?

"No, it's not fair, Tim, but it's the way it is," Gibbs said. He hated that he had to do this just as much as Tim hated it being done, but taking chances with Tim's safety was unacceptable.

"But-"

"This matter is closed, Tim," Gibbs said, effectively ending the conversation. He was done arguing about it. Though secretly he was glad his had argued with him a little. It meant that they were making progress in building Tim's self-esteem, however little it might be.

Tim stayed quiet for a while until he realized they were going in the opposite direction of his father's house. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to get your sister," Gibbs said.

Tim turned to his father in surprise. "Sarah? Why? Is something wrong?"

"As far as I know, Sarah's fine," Gibbs assured his son.

"Then why-"

"To make sure she stays that way," he interrupted.

"Y…you think Brad's going to go after her?" Tim asked in fear. He didn't want to think about his sister getting hurt because of him.

"I think that it would better not to take chances."

"Why would he hurt her though? He's always treated her well," Tim said. Brad had never done anything to hurt Sarah. He'd always treated her like she walked on water. Why did his dad suddenly think that was going to change?

"I think that had more to do with hurting you than his love for Sarah. He wanted to cause you as much pain as possible. What better way than to have you watch him treat your sister with love and care? I don't think he really did care though," Gibbs said. He didn't believe for one second that McGee really cared about Sarah. He wasn't sure the bastard was even capable of love. "Now things have changed. He's coming after you with everything he has, and he's going to expect Sarah to be on his side. When He finds out she's not, we will be angry."

"Oh, God," said a worried Tim. He'd never even considered the idea of Sarah getting hurt before. The very thought scared the hell out of him.

"No, it's okay, I'm not going to let her get hurt," Gibbs promised.

"How are you gonna stop it?" he asked.

"She's staying with us until this is over," Gibbs answered.

"No, she's not going to do that. Sarah's pretty stubborn. She's not going to want to stop her life to hide," Tim said. He knew his sister all too well. There was no way she was going to agree to come home with them.

"Who said it was up to her?" Gibbs asked. The choice was now out of Sarah's hands. He wasn't going to let get her because she was too stubborn to accept his help. Sarah was important to Tim, which made her important to him.

"She's not going to respond well to that, Dad," Tim said.

"Well, I'll tell her the same thing I told you. This is the way it's going to be."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs and Tim approached Sarah's dorm room. Gibbs immediately knocked on the door.

The door was opened seconds later by Sarah, who immediately tensed up at the sight of them. The two of them being there could not be a good thing. "Oh, God. What happened?"

"You need to come with us, Sarah," Gibbs said.

"Come where? What's going on?" Sarah asked.

"Your father's getting worse. I'm not taking chances. You're coming with us. Let's go," Gibbs said. He was calm, but the tone in his voice was very clear. It wasn't a choice.

"Whoa, hold on. What happened? What did my dad do?" Sarah asked.

"He sent me a threatening email, Sarah," Tim said.

Sarah's eyes widened. Just when she thought her father couldn't get any worse. "Oh my God. He's threatening you now?"

"Yeah, I got the email a little while ago. Basically he admits that he destroyed my apartment and says that he's not done with me," Tim said before looking away.

"Tim, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry he's hurting you like this. You don't deserve this," Sarah said. She felt a little guilty. She knew it wasn't really her fault, but she couldn't help but feel a little guilty. After all, it was her father who had caused all this. She still didn't understand why they wanted her to come with them though. "Why do you want me to go with you though? It's Tim he wants to hurt, not me?"

"I told you, he's going to be angry when he realizes you're on Tim's side. It's a real possibility that he's going to take his anger out on you," Gibbs said.

"Okay, but I told you I'd be fine on my own. You agreed," Sarah reminded him.

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, I did, against my better judgment, but that was before he started threatening your brother. He's getting worse, Sarah, and I'm going to play the odds with either of your lives."

"I'm not going to hide from him. I don't hide from anybody," Sarah said stubbornly. There was no way she was going to hide away while her father tried to destroy her brother. If he truly did try to come at her, she was going to stand up to him and defend Tim.

"He's not asking, Sarah," Tim said.

"I'm not," Gibbs confirmed.

"You can't force me to go with you," Sarah said. She regretted the words as soon as she said them. She had a feeling that Agent Gibbs would see that as a challenge.

"Wanna test that theory?" Gibbs asked, not missing a beat.

Sarah fidgeted a little. She really didn't want to test him. She had the feeling that somehow, he would be able to force her. "This isn't necessary. I'll be fine."

"I know you will be because you're coming with us," he said.

"Sarah, please. I don't want you to get hurt," Tim pleaded. He hoped that his pleas along with his father's insistence would get through to his sister.

Sarah felt resolve failing. She hated when her brother looked at her like that. He looked sad and pretty scared as well. She'd do anything to make that look go away. Who was she kidding? She didn't have a choice anyway. She had no doubt that Gibbs would find a way to make her come. "Alright."


	27. Chapter 27

Gibbs led Tim and Sarah into the house and closed the door behind them before turning to face them. "Alright, both of you listen up. There will two agents outside at all times. You will not go anywhere without one of them. Is that clear?"

Tim nodded. He hated it, but he knew he didn't have a choice. When his father used that tone, he meant business.

"Sarah?" Gibbs asked as he narrowed his eyes. He could tell she was thinking about arguing with him.

"This is ridiculous. He's not going to hurt me," Sarah said. She knew her father had done a lot of horrible things, but she couldn't believe that he would hurt her.

Gibbs sighed and took a couple of steps towards her. He knew she wanted to believe that her father loved her too much to hurt her, and as much as he wished he could let her hang onto that delusion, he didn't have that luxury. "I know you want to believe that, and I wish I could let you, but you need to face the truth. This man is dangerous to everyone around him. He wants to hurt your brother. He will stop at nothing to get his way. He will try to take down everything and anyone that gets in his way. And we both know that you will do anything to help Tim, just like I would. Your father's not going to care that you're his daughter. He will come after you just like he's coming after Tim. I'm sorry, but that's the truth."

Sarah felt her heart take an immediate blow. It hurt to hear Agent Gibbs say those things. Mostly because a part of her knew they were true. She'd tried to deny it, but after hearing Gibbs say it, she knew it was the truth. She just didn't want to accept it. She didn't want to accept that her father was so evil, or that he could care so little about her.

"I know it hurts you to hear this, and for that I am sorry, but I think a part of you knows that it's the truth," Gibbs said.

Sarah nodded. "I won't go anywhere without the agents," Sarah promised.

"Good. I don't want anything happening to either of you," Gibbs said. He then headed upstairs and left brother and sister alone.

After his father left, Tim turned to his sister.

Sarah shook her head no.

Tim wrapped his arms around her and brought her into a tight embrace.

Sarah hugged her brother for a minute before pulling away. "Well isn't this a reverse. You're taking care of me now." For years it had been the other way around. She may have been the younger one, but she was usually the one that had to put Tim back together. There were a couple of times over the years where it was reversed, like when she'd been suspected in the death of her sailor ex-boyfriend, but most of the time it was Tim who needed comforting.

Tim took Sarah's hand and led her into the living room and over to the couch. "We take care of each other. That's how it's always been. God forbid our parents ever did it."

Sarah laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, you got that right." Their parents had never really been there. Sure, her father had always shown her affection, but he was never really there when she needed him. And needless to say, he was never there for Tim. Their mother wasn't really much better. She told both of them she loved them, and even acted like a mother sometimes, but she never stopped her father from the things he did. She just stood by and let it happen. No, up until now, all they had was each other. "But at least you have your father now."

"I think you have him too, Sarah," Tim said. His father had treated Sarah just like him. He had the feeling that Sarah had him too for better or worse. He'd made that quite clear today when he ordered her to come with them. There was no doubt in his mind that he she refused to go, his father would've carried her over his shoulder if he had to.

Sarah smiled. "I can't get over him. He's definitely different from Dad."

Tim snorted. "That's an understatement. He changed my life, long before I ever knew he was my father."

"I know. I saw you change. You used to be so careful around everybody. You were nervous and stuttering around almost everybody. Then little by little you started to get better. To everyone who didn't know you, you actually appeared to be normal," Sarah said. She remembered seeing the small changes in her brother after joining Gibbs' team at NCIS. He knew Gibbs had to be responsible for that.

"But not to you?" he asked.

"I knew better. Dad was still coming at you every chance he got. You started to get better, but every time Dad had a go at you, he pulled you a couple of steps back. Still, you grabbed a tiny bit of self-confidence when you started working for Gibbs," Sarah said. She would always be grateful and amazed at Gibbs for that. He'd started healing Tim before he even knew anything was broken.

Tim laughed.

"What?" asked an amused Sarah.

"It's just, I used to see Gibbs as a father. I used to wish he was mine. He was the first person, aside from you, that ever treated me with respect. He never tore no matter how many times I thought he would. Hell, a part of me still thinks he will but he doesn't. Not even when I piss him off. I did a really good job of that last night," Tim said as he remembered how his father yelled at him for keeping secrets the night before.

"What happened?" Sarah wondered. So far she'd never heard Gibbs so much as raise his voice at Tim.

"Well, apparently I'm not that good at hiding when something is wrong," Tim said.

Sarah snorted. "That's an understatement. I love you, big brother, but you are the worst liar in the world."

"Anyway, he could tell that something was bothering me all day yesterday. He knew I was hiding something from him, and he got pissed. He was even more pissed when he found out what it was. He yelled at me for trying to keep what happened at my apartment from him," Tim explained.

"Wow. Did that go okay. I mean, I know how you can get when you get yelled at," Sarah said.

"It was actually okay. I mean, no one likes getting yelled at, but it wasn't like with Brad. He didn't tear me down or insult me. He raised his voice, but only to make a point. He made it clear that he was mad, but that he wasn't going to abandon me," Tim said.

"Do you believe him?" She asked. She knew that what Gibbs told her brother was the truth, but she knew Tim might not.

"I'm working on it. I'm not there yet, but I'm really trying to believe him."

"You wish you'd been raised by him." It wasn't a question. She knew it was how her brother felt. She couldn't really blame. Sure, it would've meant that they wouldn't have grown up together, but he would've grown up with a loving parent.

"Yea," Tim admitted. He knew it might hurt her, but he did wish his father had found about him when he was a kid and taken him away from that hell. It might be selfish, but it was how he felt.

"So do I," Sarah said.

"Really?" Tim asked in surprise. He hadn't expected her to say that. I part of him expected her to be angry that his wish would've meant they wouldn't have grown up together.

"Yeah. It would mean that we'd have grown up away from each other, but at least you would've grown up knowing you were loved," Sarah said.

"Well, it doesn't really matter, does it. What happened happened. We can't change it. All we can do is try to get past everything somehow," he said. Granted, he had no idea how to get past it, but he was beginning to think it was possible.

Before Sarah had a chance to respond, her phone began to ring. "Oh, that's probably my roommate wondering where the hell I am." She picked it up and answered it without looking at the caller ID. "Hello?"

"_Where the hell are you?"_

Sarah nearly jumped at the angry voice of her father. For one, she hadn't expected it to be him, and for another, he'd never yelled at her like that. "Dad."

Tim looked at her alarmed.

"_I asked you a question, Sarah. Where are you?" _Brad asked.

"I…I'm in class," Sarah lied.

"_Don't lie to me, Sarah. You're with that little bastard, aren't you?" _Brad asked.

Sarah found her temper flaring as her father insulted her brother for about the millionth time. "Don't talk about him like that!"

"_I'll talk however the hell I want. Now tell me where the weak piece of trash is!" _he demanded.

"No."

"_Excuse me? Did you just say no to me?" _Brad asked incredulously.

"Dad, just leave Tim alone. He hasn't done anything wrong," Sarah pleaded.

Tim could imagine what Brad was saying about him. He'd heard it all too many times before. He thought about going to get his father to make this stop, but he didn't want to leave Sarah alone to deal with it. He didn't wanna yell for the man either because he didn't want to alert Brad to his presence. All he could do was sit there and let it play out.

"_Don't defend him to me! He does something wrong just by breathing. Someone should do the world a favor and end his pathetic existence."_

Sarah's eyes widened in horror when she heard that. It sounded way too much like a threat for her liking. He hadn't said it in so many words, but she knew what he meant. "Dad, you leave Tim alone!"

There was a moment of silence before Brad finally spoke again. When he did, it was in a very low, scary tone. _"Are you choosing him over me? Because if you are, I swear, you'll regret it."_

Before Sarah had a chance to respond, the phone was taken from her hands. She looked over and saw Gibbs looking pissed.

"You listen to me, you twisted son of a bitch. You will never hurt Tim or Sarah ever again. I am going to track you down and bury you. You're done hurting them. They're mine now!" Gibbs growled into the phone. He quickly hung it and then turned to Tim and Sarah. He sat down next to Sarah and put an arm around her. "It's okay."

Sarah grabbed onto Gibbs tightly and cried.

Gibbs continued to hold the young woman as she cried and whispered soothingly into her ear. "It's alright. It's all going to be okay."

Tim smiled slightly at his father and sister. It seemed he was right earlier when he said that Sarah had his father as well. His father wasn't going to do what Brad did. He was going to be there for Sarah as much as for him. He'd meant what he said to Brad on the phone. Sarah was his now too.


	28. Chapter 28

Vance stood in MTAC looking at the screen as Commander James Sheridan came on the screen. Commander Sheridan was a middle-aged man with short brown hair.

"What can I do for you, Director Vance?"

"Bradley, McGee," Vance simply said.

"Not much to say about him. He's an idiot," Commander Sheridan said.

"Oh, I'm getting that," Vance said. Anyone who messed with Gibbs and what was his earned the title of biggest idiot on earth.

"Bradley McGee is the biggest moron I've ever had the displeasure of working with. I don't know what you could possibly want with him, Director," the commander said.

"He's harassing one of my agents," Vance said coolly. That was one thing he didn't stand for. No one messed with his people without dealing with him.

"I wish I could say that surprised me, but it doesn't. What's he doing to him?" Commander Sheridan asked.

"He vandalized his apartment, sent him threatening notes, and that just what I know," Vance said. He decided to leave out that the agent used to be McGee's son and that there was no real proof of any of this.

"Well that's career suicide, not that he was going to have a career in the Navy much longer anyway," he said.

"What do you mean, Commander?" asked Vance.

Lieutenant McGee is AWOL as of two days ago. No one here has seen or heard from him in over a week. He did have leave, but it ended two days ago. This toppled with the dozens of reprimands is pretty much the end for him," the commander explained.

"McGee's a deserter," Vance said. That didn't bode well. That meant that McGee didn't care about his own life anymore. He was on a personal crusade to destroy Gibbs and Tim, and he wouldn't stop until he did. This wasn't going to end well. "Okay, thank you, Commander."

"No problem, Director," he said.

Vance waited for the screen to go off before heading up the stairs towards the exit.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Later that night, Sarah was sitting alone on the couch in Gibbs' living room. Tim was in the shower and Gibbs was in the basement. Sarah kept thinking about the things her father said. The whole conversation had really unnerved her. It wasn't the insults about Tim that bothered her. Those, while horrible and cruel, she'd heard her whole life. It was the threats that bothered her. While he hadn't come right out and said it, her father made it really clear that he intended to kill Tim and anyone else who tried to stop him. That had never happened before. As cruel as her father was, he'd never physically hurt Tim before. This was getting really scary. Her brother's life was in serious danger.

Soon, Gibbs came up from the basement. He saw Sarah on the couch looking upset. "You alright, Sarah?"

Sarah looked up and saw him. "Oh, hey, Agent Gibbs. I'm fine."

"I told you, it's just Gibbs," he said as he made it over to the couch and sat down next to her. "And you're just as bad a liar as Tim."

Sarah smiled slightly. "Okay, I'm not okay. I can't get over what my father's been. Or more accurately, what he's always been."

"Is there something I should know about what happened earlier?" Gibbs asked. His gut told him that it wasn't just McGee's usual crap. He wanted to ask her about it earlier, but she'd been really upset.

"Yeah. I didn't want to say anything earlier because Tim was sitting right there."

"Say what?" Gibbs asked.

"I think my father intends to kill Tim," Sarah told him.

"Why do you think that?" Gibbs asked uneasily. The thought of McGee trying to hurt Tim had occurred to him, but it was much different to hear someone say that he was making plans to kill him. That infuriated him and terrified him all at the same time.

"It was just the things he said. He didn't come out and say that he was going to kill him, but he said that Tim didn't deserve to be alive and that someone should end his existence," Sarah explained.

Gibbs took a deep breath. It was taking everything he had to keep his anger in check. The bastard threatened his son. Sarah was right. They were threats. Unfortunately, they were vague enough that the law wouldn't consider them as such. "Alright, I want you to listen to me. I'm not going to let anyone hurt Tim. Or you."

Sarah shook her head in disbelief. "I don't get you. How can you be so nice to me? Why do you even care about helping me? I mean, my father treats your son like dirt because he hates you. And I know you hate him too."

"Yeah, I do," Gibbs admitted. He hated McGee more than almost anyone. "But our hatred for each other is as far as the similarities go. I'm not like your father, Sarah. When I hate someone, I go after them. I don't go after a man's kids. That's just cowardly. It's like saying, 'I can't beat you, so I'm going to go after someone can beat.' Praying on those weaker than you is pathetic and sickening. Unfortunately, that's the person your father is. You deserve better than him. And that's why I'm doing this. Because somebody has to."

Sarah closed her eyes sadly for a second. "I don't understand how he can be so awful. Why does he do this? He's supposed to love me. But he doesn't, does he?"

Gibbs contemplated for a minute. He thought about lying and saying that maybe McGee did love her, but decided against it. The last thing Sarah needed was someone else she couldn't trust. "No, I don't think so. And that's not your fault, it's his. Some people simply shouldn't be allowed to be parents. Your father is one of them. So is your mother for that matter. They don't know how to put their kids first, and that's what a parent is supposed to do."

"My father's always been awful to Tim, but until today, he's never even raised his voice at me," Sarah said. It threw her for a loop to hear her father yell at her and threaten her the way he did.

"That's because his focus was on hurting Tim, and he knew that watching him dote on you would create a lot of damage," Gibbs said. He didn't want to hurt her, but he felt that Sarah needed to know the cold, ugly truth about who her father was.

Sarah nodded. It hurt to hear, but it did make sense. Her father had created a lot of damage by treating them differently. It was probably why to this day Tim thought he was less than everyone else. Because that's what he was taught all his life. Her father had treated him like the plague. Everyone and everything was better than Tim in his eyes.

Soon, Tim could be heard coming down the stairs. "Hey. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Sarah said.

"Not everything. You need to know what happened when Sarah talked to her father earlier," Gibbs said.

"What are you doing?" Sarah asked. Why was Gibbs telling Tim about what she told him? It would just hurt and scare Tim to know what her father said.

"Sorry, Sarah, but I have to tell him. Tim and I have a deal. No secrets. That goes both ways," Gibbs said. He couldn't expect Tim to be honest with him if he wasn't honest back?

"What is it?" Tim asked. He was getting worried. If Sarah didn't want him to know something that Brad had told her, it had to be bad.

"McGee threatened you," Gibbs said.

"What else is new? He sent me a threatening email earlier," he reminded them.

"This is different. This time he mentioned killing you," Sarah said.

The color drained from Tim's face. "H…he wants me dead?"

Gibbs stood up and placed his hands on either side of his son's face. "Hey, listen to me. No one's going to hurt you."

"But-"

"No, no buts. I won't let him hurt you. Do you trust me?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes," Tim said. He did trust his father in almost every aspect. The only thing he didn't completely trust yet was that he'd always be there for him.

"Then trust me when I say I won't let anyone hurt either of you. Okay?" Gibbs asked.

"Okay," Tim said. He was still scared, but he believe his father when he promised to protect him.

Gibbs soon heard a knock on the door. "I'll be right back," he said before going to the front door and opening it. He was surprised to see that it was Vance. "Leon, what brings you here?"

"Can we talk?" Vance asked.

Gibbs walked outside and closed the door behind him. He didn't want Tim and Sarah to hear whatever Vance had to tell him. If there was anything to tell, he'd do it himself after Vance left.

"I see you started locking your door," Vance remarked.

"Well, yeah, Leon. There's a psycho out there who wants to hurt my son. Of course I started locking it," Gibbs said. "So what's up?"

"I spoke to McGee's CO. He's AWOL," Vance said.

Gibbs' eyes widened. That wasn't good. "He's a deserter? So he has absolutely nothing to lose now."

"True, but now we have a reason to bring him in," Vance said.

"Yeah, well we have to find him first. Preferably before he tries to hurt my son or his sister," Gibbs said.

"You're really worried," Vance commented.

"Ya think, Leon? He's threatening my boy. He threatened to kill him today."

"What? When did that happen?" Vance asked. This was the first he was hearing of that.

"He called Tim's sister today. Now he didn't come right out and say it, but he did say that someone should kill Tim. And now you're telling me that he deserted the Navy. He's dropping everything just to hurt my kid," Gibbs said. He was getting more worried by the minute.

"Okay, calm down. We're going to figure this out. I'll do whatever I can to help you protect Tim. Just tell me what you need," Vance said.

"I want his wife brought in," Gibbs said. He wanted to officially interrogate Clare. He wasn't sure if she was involved in this or if she was just too stupid to realize what was really happening, but he wanted to lean on her.

"Done. I'll figure out a reason to hold her and have DiNozzo and David bring her in tomorrow," Vance assured him.

"Good. The sooner this ends the better. I won't let McGee hurt my son. And if he tries, he'll find out what happened to the last person who came after one of my kids," he vowed.


	29. Chapter 29

Gibbs stood in the observation room looking at Clare, who was sitting in the interrogation room. Vance was next to him. "You going in?" Vance asked.

"Yup, and I need you to come with me," Gibbs said.

"Why do you want me in there?" Vance asked. He would think Gibbs would want him to stay out of his way.

"I may need someone to stop me from killing her," Gibbs said. He knew he was going to end up losing his temper the second Clare tried to excuse McGee's actions. Hell, he was already pissed off, and he hadn't even entered the room yet.

"Okay, but why me?" Vance asked. Gibbs had his team for things like that.

"Because neither Tony or Ziva will try to stop me. In fact, they'll probably help. And I'll be damned if Tim gets near her again," Gibbs said.

Vance laughed. Gibbs had a point there. "Alright, let's go," He said before leading the way to the interrogation room.

"Why the hell am I here?" Clare demanded to know.

"Officially, you're here because your husband is a deserter," Vance said. That was the reason he was using for hauling Clare McGee in for questioning.

"And unofficially?" Clare asked.

"Unofficially, you're here because you and the son of a bitch you married are royally pissing me off!" Gibbs said angrily.

Clare sat back in her chair and glared. "So this whole thing desertion thing was just a scam to get me in here?"

"Not at all. Your husband was gone AWOL. He's wanted by the Navy for desertion," Vance said.

Clare shook her head. "Brad would never desert the Navy."

"You mean like he would never vandalize someone's apartment or send him threatening emails?" Vance asked.

"He wouldn't," she said.

Gibbs gripped the table tightly to try to keep himself from reaching forward and strangling the woman.

"Really?" Vance asked before sliding a copy of the email Tim had received over to her. "He sent this to your son."

Clare read the email and then shook her head no. "No, Brad would never send something like that to Tim."

Vance looked at Gibbs as if to ask, 'is she for real?'

Gibbs seemed to get what he was asking because he nodded his head before turning his attention back to Clare. "You mean like he didn't verbally attack him for thirty-three years."

"You don't understand. It's not what you think. Brad just gets angry sometimes. He doesn't mean anything by it. Tim just gets too sensitive sometimes," Clare said.

"I know you're not blaming Tim for this," Gibbs said in a low, dangerous voice. He was not going to sit there and let her blame his son for this. No way.

"No of course not. I'm just saying that it's not as bad as he makes it out to be," she said.

"Lady, I can't figure out if you're really this callous or if you're just incredibly stupid," Vance said. He'd been warned by Gibbs, but it wasn't enough to prepare him for how indifferent this woman was regarding the treatment of her own son.

"Oh, don't sell her short, Leon. She' both," Gibbs said.

Clare glared at him. "You don't know anything about me or my family, Jethro."

"What family? Your bastard husband is so off his rocker that he's in the wind plotting to hurt someone who never did anything to anybody, and as for your kids, they're not yours anymore. You lost the right to call yourself their mother when chose that abusive bastard over them," Gibbs said.

"He was not abusive!" Clare yelled.

Gibbs was quiet for a minute. "Well, I guess it depends on your definition of abuse. I call telling a kid that he's pathetic and that he'll never amount to anything abuse. What about you, Leon?"

"I think 'abuse' is too nice a word for it. I'd call it inhuman and just plain cruel," Vance responded.

"It's just words. It's not like he really hurts him," Clare said.

"Just words. Those words ripped my son apart! They destroyed very ounce of self-esteem he ever had. Do you know that he can't even go a day without wondering if I'm going to turn my back on him?" Gibbs asked. Anger was radiating off of him. How dare she act like what McGee did to Tim was no big deal? It was a very big deal. It carried consequences that Tim was still trying to deal with.

Clare looked away.

"Do you even care about your son?" Vance asked. He was finding this woman's callousness really disturbing. "Because right now, I think I care about him more, and I barely know him."

"I love my son."

"This is love to you? Rationalizing your husband's abuse. And that's what it is. Abuse. He abused our son his whole life. And what did you do? You just sat back and watched it happen. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why. Was it because he was mine? Because if that's the case, you should've given him to me," Gibbs said. He would've gladly taken his son and raised him on his own.

"Where is your husband, Mrs. McGee?" Vance asked.

"I don't know. He said he was going home. Something must have happened to him," Clare said.

"No, nothing happened to him. Not yet anyway," Gibbs said.

"Jethro, you leave my husband alone!" she yelled.

Gibbs shook his head in bewilderment. Just when he thought she could sink no lower. "My God. You show so much concern for your worthless husband and absolutely nothing for your own son. I wish to god that I had known the truth years ago. If I had, I could've made sure that Tim never knew you."

"You left."

"And that's why you never told me, isn't it? You wanted to punish me for leaving you, so you took my son away. Maybe that's even why you let Brad treat him so badly. You two are a piece of work. You deserve each other. It's just too bad you dragged two innocent children with you. But that ends now. You'll never hurt them again because you'll never get near them again," Gibbs swore. He'd made a vow to protect Tim and Sarah, and was exactly what he was going to do.

"You can't keep my kids from me. They're adults, and Sarah isn't even yours," Clare said.

"That matters very little right now. Tim is my son and I'm going to protect him from you. I don't care that he's an adult. It's my job to protect him things that will cause him pain. And you are one of those things. As for Sarah, I may not be her father, but I'm beginning to see that I'm as close to a real parent as she's ever had. They're mine and I'm going to take care of them. You're going to stay away from them." Gibbs said before standing up. He was done here. It was obvious that Clare didn't know where McGee was, and if he listened to another word, he might just kill her.

"Jethro, don't you walk away. They're my kids! You can't take them from me!"

Gibbs ignored her and continued out of the interrogation room. He walked a little down the hall and saw Tim coming towards him. "Tim, what are you doing up here."

"I was looking for you. I need you to sign…" he trailed off as he saw something from behind his father. It was his mother with Director Vance.

"Tim," Clare said.

"What's going on? What's she doing here?" Tim asked.

"Tim, go back to your desk," Gibbs said.

"Tim, don't listen to him. We need to talk," Clare said.

"Tim, I will explain later. Go!" Gibbs ordered. He wasn't going to let Clare try to talk Tim back into her way of thinking. That was why he was going to make sure she never got near him.

"But-"

"Now, son," Gibbs said.

Tim reluctantly did what he was told and walked away.

Clare tried to go after her son, but Gibbs stood in her way and refused to let her by. "Don't even think about it. "

Clare glared at him. "You think Tim's going to thank you for keeping me from him? For making choices for him?"

"No, maybe he won't at first, but in time, he'll understand that this if for his benefit. Deep down he knows that you're not good for his world. Your done hurting him. I won't allow it," Gibbs said before turning to Vance. "Get her out of her, would you?" he asked before walking away.


	30. Chapter 30

Gibbs and Tim made it back to the house at around eight. "I'm going upstairs," Tim said with an edge in his voice. He was pissed and he wanted his father to know it.

Gibbs sighed as he watched his son go upstairs. He knew the kid was pissed off. That had been evident all day long. He was mad that Gibbs had kept him from his mother. It wasn't something Gibbs regretted though. He'd rather his son be angry with him than see the sad, devastated look that crossed his face every time he came back from a conversation with his mother or stepfather.

Gibbs went into the living room, where he found Sarah sitting with a book. "Hey.

Sarah looked up from her studying. "Oh, hi."

"I trust nothing happened today?" Gibbs asked.

"Everything's fine. No calls and no threatening messages," Sarah assured him. "Where's Tim?"

"He went upstairs."

"Without even saying goodnight?" Sarah asked surprised. That was unlike her brother.

"I think he wanted to be alone. He's mad at me," Gibbs said as he sat down in a chair.

"Why? What happened?" she asked.

"I brought your mother in for questioning today. I wanted to see if she knew where your father was," Gibbs said.

"Did she?" Sarah wondered.

'She says no, and my gut tells me it's the truth. Anyway, Tim saw her leaving, and I made him leave the area. I refused to let him talk to her," Gibbs explained.

"Why would he want to?" Sarah asked. She didn't understand why her brother would want to see their mother after everything she'd done to him.

"I don't think he does. I think he's just mad that I wouldn't leave the decision up to him," Gibbs said. It was a reasonable reaction. Nobody liked decisions being made for them. Unfortunately, there was no choice in this case. He wasn't going to let Clare pull her crap with Tim again. If that meant he had to make the choice to keep Clare away for Tim, so be it.

"Yeah, I can see why that would irritate him," Sarah said. She could definitely see her brother getting mad at someone for making decisions for him. She hated that too.

"Well, then you're really not going to like this next part. You're not going near her either," Gibbs informed her.

"What? You can't do that? It's my choice!" Sarah said angrily. She really had no desire to see her mother, but she would be damned if she let him make choices for her.

"No, it's not. Your mother is just as dangerous as your father in her own way. She's so far up her father's ass that she can't seem to care about anyone else. If she's given the chance, she's going to try to try to inflict her twisted views on you, and I'm not going to let that happen," Gibbs said.

"Okay , that makes sense for Tim. He can't really defend himself right now, but I can," Sarah said. Gibbs was right about her brother. It wouldn't take much for him to break under pressure from their mother. She wasn't that vulnerable though. She could hold her own.

"Are you sure of that. I know you probably consider yourself to be pretty good at defending yourself, but these are your parents we're talking about. It's a lot harder to stand your ground when it's someone you love, especially a parent. So I'm making it for you. At least until this thing with your father is over. I know you don't like it, but it's the way it is. Got it?" Gibbs asked.

Sarah nodded. She didn't like it, but she knew he wasn't going to budge on it, and she knew he was only doing it because he cared. It was more than she could say for her parents.

Gibbs stood up from his chair. "Alright, I'll be in the basement. If you see your brother, tell him to come down when he's ready to talk," he said before heading down to work on the boat.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs had been working on his boat for about an hour and a half before Tim finally made it down. "You finally ready to talk about it?"

"Why?" Tim asked. He was still angry and he wanted to know why his father had taken his choice away from him.

Gibbs didn't need any elaboration to his son's question. He knew what he meant. "You know why. I wasn't going to let her try to take you back down to her way of thinking."

"But isn't it my choice if I want to speak to her or not," Tim asked. He didn't really wanna talk to her, but he wanted to have the option.

"No," Gibbs said bluntly. "I'm sorry, but you're not getting the choice. The day I found out you were my son, your well-being became my first priority. It wouldn't be good for you to talk to your mother right now."

"But that's not your choice. I'm an adult and this is my life!" Tim yelled. A part of him knew he should stop, but his anger wouldn't let him. His father shouldn't be making his decisions for him.

Gibbs gave him a hard look. "I suggest you take a step back and remember who you're talking to. I'm your father, not some buddy you're pissed at. I won't be yelled at like that. And I don't care how old you are. You are my son, and I will do what I have to do to protect you, even if it means doing something you don't like. "

"But-"

"No, buts. I understand that you want to make your own choices. I get that, but this isn't one you're ready to make. If I'd let you speak to your mother today, she would've played one of her games and tried to pull you back into her twisted life. Not happening. Until I'm sure you can make your own choices when faced with pressure from your mother, this is one choice I'll be making for you. End of story," Gibbs said. He knew his son wasn't happy, but that was just too bad. Sometimes being a parent meant doing things your kids didn't like. He was going to do what was right by his son whether he liked it or not.

Tim huffed and stormed back up the stairs. He went into the kitchen and slammed one of the cabinets. He was mad. Not just about his choice being made for him, but also at being shadowed twenty-four/seven. He couldn't so much as go for a walk without two agents following him.

Tim grabbed his car keys off the counter and headed for the back door to avoid the agents. He needed to get out of there for a little while and he didn't want to be followed. He quietly walked out the back door and got into his car. He then drove away as quietly as possible.


	31. Chapter 31

Gibbs walked up the stairs towards his bedroom. When he did, he saw that the door to Tim's room was open and the light was off. That was a little peculiar. Tim always closed the door when he was sleeping. His gut told him something wasn't right. He walked inside and turned the light on. Tim wasn't there. He quickly turned around and went downstairs. He looked in the living room and found it empty. He checked the whole house, but there was no sign of him.

Gibbs' face began to get hard. If Tim left this house without telling anyone, he was going to kill him. He went to the front door and opened it. "Matheson!"

Agent Matheson flinched and went over to the man. "Yes sir."

"Did you see my son leave?" Gibbs asked.

"No, sir. We've been here the whole time," the young agent said.

Gibbs moved further out of the house so he could see the driveway. Sure enough, Tim's car was gone. He immediately went back into the house and grabbed his phone to call Tim. If Tim knew what was good for him, he'd pick up.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

It only took about ten minutes after he left the house for Tim to realize how screwed he was. He'd left the house without his security detail. "I'm so dead," he said out loud. He didn't need to worry about Brad killing him because his father was going to do it for him. "Okay, I can fix this. It hasn't been that long. I can just go back now and no one will be the wiser.

As if on cue, Tim's phone began to ring. He picked it up and felt his heart sink when he saw his father's name on the caller ID. "Oh God. There goes that plan. I'm dead. Dead and buried.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs growled as he hung up the phone. Now he was really pissed. Not only had Tim left without security detail, putting his life at risk, but now the kid was ignoring his calls.

Gibbs started dialing his phone again. He put it up to his ear and waited impatiently for an answer.

"_Hello?" _Came Abby's voice.

"Abby, it's me," Gibbs said.

"_Gibbs! What can I do for you, bossman?"_

"I need you to get me a GPS location on Tim's cellphone," Gibbs said. He needed to know where Tim was so he could make sure he was okay and then drag his ass home.

"_Why? Don't you know where Timmy is? He lives with you, doesn't he?"_ he asked.

"Abby, just get me a location, okay? Call me back as soon as you get it," Gibbs said before hanging up.

At that moment, Sarah came downstairs. "Is everything okay?"

Gibbs turned to her. "Sarah, did Tim tell you he was leaving?"

"What? No. Tim left?" Sarah asked.

Gibbs nodded. "His car is gone and he's nowhere to be found."

"Oh God," said a horrified Sarah. She wasn't stupid. She knew what this could mean for her brother. Her father was still out there and he wanted Tim's blood. What was Tim thinking by leaving?

Gibbs grabbed his coat and car keys. "You stay here, understand?"

Sarah nodded numbly.

Gibbs stormed out of the house and to his car.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim walked into his apartment. He knew he was probably making this ten times worse for himself by not going straight back and ignoring his father's calls, but he couldn't bring himself to go back yet. He was too worried about how his father was going to react. He knew it wasn't going to be pretty. He just hoped it wasn't a Brad type of reaction. He was mostly sure that it wouldn't be, but a part of him couldn't help but worry about it

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Tim turned around to see that Brad had entered the apartment. He watched in fear as the man closed and locked the door.

"Nice to see you finally grow a pair and ditch your shadows," Brad said.

"What do you want?" Tim asked as he took a step back.

Brad laughed at Tim's attempt to get away from him an advanced on him. "I guess I spoke too soon about you growing a pair. Looks like you're still the spineless coward you always were."

Tim continued to get as far away from his stepfather as possible. "Get away from me."

"How you managed to get a job as a federal agent, I'll never know. You're too weak for a job like that. You can't even stand up to your own father," Brad said.

"You're not my father," Tim said as he as bravely as he could manage under the circumstances. He didn't have his gun and he didn't know how to fight Brad off. If it were anyone else, he probably could fight, but not Brad. He didn't know how.

Brad laughed. "Lucky for me. No one should have to be saddled with you as a father. I almost feel sorry for that bastard, Gibbs. Almost."

"Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?" Tim asked. It was a question he'd asked himself every day for thirty years. He hadn't had the courage to ask it until now.

Brad grabbed him and pushed him up against the wall. "The fact that you exist is reason enough."

"Get off me!" Tim yelled. This new territory here. As awful as Brad had been to him, he'd never laid a hand on him before.

Brad responded by punching Tim in the face. He then grabbed him up again and dragged him over to the kitchen table, which he slammed his head into. "Get up!"

Tim barely heard him. He was too daze by the pain and dizziness he was feeling.

Brad grabbed him again and punched him. He then got on top of him and placed his hands around his throat. "I guess you'll die like you lived. Like a coward."

Tim gasped for breath and grabbed at Brad's hands as the man continued to squeeze the life out of him.

Then there was a pounding at the door. "Tim, open up! I know you're in there," came Gibbs voice.

Apparently the idea of Gibbs being there scared Brad because he let of Tim and headed for the fire escape.

Tim started coughing as he gasped for air. "Dad!" he said as loudly as possible.

Gibb apparently heard him because he kicked the door in and was at his side in seconds. "Tim! It's okay, son. I'm right here."

"Brad," Tim squeaked as he continued to cough. "Fire escape."

Gibbs knew exactly what his son was saying, but he couldn't go after McGee right now. His son needed him right now. "No, it's okay. We'll get him. We need to take care of you first. I need you breath. Deep slow breaths."

"Sorry," Tim managed to get out.

"Later," Gibbs said. He couldn't exactly say it was alright, but it could be dealt with later. Right now all he cared about was making sure that his son was okay. Nothing else mattered. "Right now we need to get you help. I'm going to call an ambulance."

Tim didn't really hear though. It got harder and harder to breath and then suddenly everything went black.


	32. Chapter 32

Tim woke with a burning sensation in his throat. Though he supposed that wasn't unusual after being strangled. He opened his eyes and saw his father and sister there. He then went to remove the mask that was covering his nose and mouth.

Gibbs gently pulled his son's hands away to stop him from taking off the oxygen mask. "It stays on, son."

"Hospital?" Tim asked quietly. His throat hurt like hell, so he wanted to speak as little as possible.

"Yeah, you're in the hospital. You're going to be okay though. Your throat is going to hurt for a while, as is your head, but you're going to be fine," Gibbs assured him. He'd already spoken to the doctor. Thankfully, McGee hadn't been able to do any permanent damage.

"Yeah, you're going to fine, big brother. Though you scared the hell out of us," Sarah said.

"Sorry," Tim said. He knew he'd screwed up big time. He was in this bed because he stupidly defied his father's order to not leave without the agents. Not only had he nearly gotten himself killed, but he'd scared his family.

"Later, okay? We'll deal with it later. Right now I'm just glad you're okay," Gibbs said. He was in no way, shape, or form letting Tim off the hook for what he did, but now wasn't the time. Right now he wanted his son to focus on getting well.

Just then, the door flew open, revealing the rest of the team. Abby immediately rushed to Tim's side and hugged him.

"Careful, Abbs. He's hurt," Gibbs warned.

"Thank god you're okay," Abby said before letting go. "What were you thinking, Timmy?"

"Sorry, Abbs," Tim said genuinely. He felt really bad for worrying everyone.

"Well, at least you're okay," Abby said.

"You are okay, yes?" Ziva asked.

"He's fine. He has a slight concussion and a very sore throat, but he'll be okay," Gibbs answered.

"Hey, Probie. Glad to see you're going to be okay. Now stop doing stupid things. That's my job," Tony half joked.

Tim laughed a little, an act he instantly regretted at he started coughing.

"Easy, son," Gibbs said before grabbing him some water off the small table by his son's bed. He then removed the oxygen mask around the kid's mouth. "Here, drink."

Tim sit up a little and took a sip of water before leaning back again. "Thanks, Dad."

Gibbs nodded before replacing the mask.

"Jethro, the director is outside. He would like a word with you," Ducky said.

Gibbs nodded. "I'll be right outside, Tim." He then walked out into the hallway.

"How is he?" Vance asked

"He's going to be okay, thank God," Gibbs said. He couldn't believe how close he'd come to losing another child. Tim passing out on the floor had been one of the most frightening moments of his life.

"Okay, I've got agents out there looking for McGee," Vance told him.

"You better. He tried to kill my son. I want the son of a bitch's head on a pike, Leon," Gibbs said angrily. He was pretty much seeing red. He hadn't felt this kind of rage since finding out about Shannon and Kelly. McGee was going to die for this.

"Gibbs, I know you're angry. I understand-"

"No, you don't! You have no idea what this is like. You don't know what it's like to be told that your child is dead. Or to walk into a room and find your son on the ground gasping for air. It's the worst feeling in the world and I hope you never have to experience it," Gibbs said. This whole thing was taking its toll on him. He was painfully aware of how dangerously close he came to burying another child.

Vance looked away for a minute. He wasn't sure what to say to that. That was the closest he'd ever heard Gibbs come to talking about the family he'd lost. It was a little unnerving hearing the man speak with so much emotion in his voice. "We're going to find him, Jethro."

"Well, you'd better do it before I do because if I find him first, I will kill him," Gibbs declared before going back into Tim's room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs was sitting by his son's bed while he slept. He'd sent the others, including Sarah, home. There was no sense in everyone staying. Tim was going to be okay, and the others needed to go home and get some sleep.

"Jethro."

Gibbs turned around and saw Ducky there with a cup of coffee in his hand. He got up and went over to the man. "Hey, Duck, I thought you went home."

"Not just yet. Here, I got you a cup of coffee," Ducky sad.

"Thanks," Gibbs said as he took the offered drink. He then led the way out into the hallway so they didn't wake Tim.

"So how are you?" Ducky asked.

"I've been better," Gibbs said. He was extremely angry. Not just at McGee either. Now that he knew he was going to be okay, his anger at Tim was starting to return. What he did had been stupid and dangerous. It had nearly cost him his life. That was unacceptable.

"Timothy is going to be alright, isn't he?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah, he's going to be fine. In fact, they're releasing him tomorrow. I just can't believe how close I came to losing him," Gibbs said.

"But you didn't. He's still here. How did this happen though, if I might ask? I hear that Timothy wasn't completely blameless," Ducky said. He wasn't sure what exactly happened, but according to the others, Timothy had done something he shouldn't have.

"You heard right, Duck. Tim had protection detail. There were two agents positioned outside my door. So what did Tim do? He snuck out the back," Gibbs said. The anger in his voice was evident.

"Why would he do that? Timothy is smarter than that," Ducky said. He couldn't believe the young man would do something so reckless. He should've known better.

"He was mad at me. I think he did it to test me. To see what I'd do if he defied me," Gibbs replied. That was the only plausible explanation he could find for it. Somewhere inside him, Tim had to know that he would be pissed when he found out. And he had to know he'd find out. Tim was smart enough to know that he couldn't do what he did and get away with it. Even if he wasn't doing it consciously, he was testing him.

"That seems pretty logical. Timothy isn't used to anyone taking a firm, parental role with him. The first sign of an argument probably had him wondering how far he could push you," Ducky explained. "What are you planning to do about it?"

"I'm not sure. Despite evidence to the contrary, he's not a kid. It's not like I can ground him to his room," Gibbs said. He fully intended to deal with his son firmly. He just wasn't sure how at the moment.

"You must do something, Jethro. He must know that this sort of thing isn't acceptable. Sometimes tough love is the only way," Ducky said.

"Oh, I intend to do something. I just have to figure out what. I figure I'll get him home first. Then I'll deal with what happened and how to make sure it doesn't happen again," Gibbs said.

Ducky nodded. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea. Just follow your gut, Jethro. It has never failed you before."

"Thanks, Duck."

"Of course. Well, I better get going. Tell Timothy I hope he feels better. And give him a talking to from me as well," he said.

Gibbs smiled. "Oh, don't worry, I will," he said before disappearing back into his son's room.


	33. Chapter 33

The next day, Gibbs led Tim into the front door of the house, where Sarah met them. She immediately put her arms around her brother. "Hey, you're home. How are you feeling?"

Tim hugged his sister for a minute before pulling away. "I'm okay." His voice was still a bit raspy and his throat still hurt a bit, but he felt much better than he did the night before.

"I'm so sorry, Tim," Sarah said guiltily. She couldn't believe how far her father had gone. He'd nearly killed her brother. She couldn't help but feel guilty by association.

"For what? This isn't your fault," Tim said. He couldn't believe his sister was blaming herself. She wasn't even there. And it wasn't like she sent Brad after him.

"He's my father," Sarah said simply.

Gibbs took a step towards her. "Hey. You are not responsible for your father's actions. His actions are his. I'm not going to let you claim them for yourself. Got it?"

"But-"

"Got it?" Gibbs asked a little more forcefully.

Sarah smiled. "Got it."

"Good. Now why don't you go get some sleep? You don't look like did much of that last night," Gibbs said. The young woman had bags under her eyes and looked extremely tired. She'd probably spent most of the night before worrying and feeling guilty.

Sarah nodded. She was quite tired. She also knew that Gibbs probably wanted to speak to Tim alone about everything that happened. "I'll see you later, Tim." She then headed up the stairs.

"I'm going to head up too, Dad," Tim said before taking a step towards the stairs.

Gibbs placed a hand on his son's shoulder, stopping him from going any further. "Not so fast. With me," he said as he steered him towards the living room. Now that Tim was home and feeling better, it was time for them to talk about his actions from the night before. "It's time you and I had a nice long, chat. Sit down," he said as he gently pushed him down onto the couch. He then sat down in an armchair.

Tim looked down at his feet. He knew what this was about. His father was about to lay into him for taking off last night. He shouldn't have been the least bit surprised. There was no way his father would ever let him get away with doing something so stupid and dangerous.

"Look at me, Tim," Gibbs ordered. He waited until his son complied before continuing. "Is there anything you'd like to say to me?"

Tim shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. "I don't know what to say. All I can say is that I'm sorry. Something tells me that's not enough though."

"Oh, you're damn right it's not! Not by a long shot. I wanna know why," Gibbs said. He actually had a good handle on why, but he wanted to hear what Tim had to say.

Tim shifted uncomfortably. That was not a question he wanted to answer. The answer would just make him look even more stupid than he already did. "I don't have an answer that will satisfy you."

"I'm not looking for a satisfying answer. I'm looking for the truth. And you're going to give it to me now," Gibbs informed him.

Tim sighed. He knew his father wasn't going to like what he said. "I was mad. I was mad at you for making choices for me that I didn't think were yours to make and at being forced to stay inside or have agents everywhere I went."

"So basically, you threw a temper tantrum because you didn't get your way and you snuck out the back door like a petulant kid," Gibbs translated. He was not impressed. If he had any doubts on how to deal with this, they were gone. If Tim wanted to act like a child, he would be treated like one.

Tim cringed. It sounded even worse than he thought when his father said it like that.

"You know what I think? I think you did this because you wanted to piss me off. You wanted to see what I'd do if you disobeyed me," Gibbs said.

"No, it wasn't like that. I just wanted to get out of there for a little while. I wasn't thinking about anything else," Tim said.

"Oh, I think you were. Maybe you didn't realize it consciously, but you knew exactly what you were doing. You're not stupid. You couldn't possibly think you could sneak out of the house and not get a reaction out of me," Gibbs said.

"I...I didn't think about that until I was already on the road. I was going to turn back, but then you called me." The second the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them. He'd just admitted to ignoring his father's phone calls. His father was now looking at him even angrier than before. It was official. He'd just dug his own grave.

"I see. So now you're telling me that you ignored my calls on top of everything else," Gibbs said. That admission just ticked him off even more. He'd already figured that something like that happened, but believing it and knowing for a fact were too different things.

"I…I…"

"If I were you, I'd stop talking now," Gibbs advised.

Tim immediately shut up and leaned back against the couch. His father was right. It was better that he just kept quiet. There was no way to get out the trouble he was in, but if he kept talking, he just might get into more.

"Okay. Whether you realize it or not, I do believe you did what you did to get a response out of me. Well this is my response: From now on, you go nowhere without me. You don't so much as cross the street without me standing next to you," Gibbs said. In most circumstances, this would probably seem unreasonable given Tim's age, but his philosophy was, if acted like a child, you got treated like one. Also, it might do Tim some good. He hadn't gotten this kind of discipline when he was a kid. Maybe getting reprimanded without being treated like trash would pave the way for him to finally start healing.

Tim looked at his father horrified. "What? You can't be serious. I'm not some little kid."

"Then I suggest you stop acting like it. Until you do, I will treat you like one," Gibbs said.

"For how long?" he asked.

"Until I say. There will also be an agent on both doors from now on, so don't even think about pulling this crap again."

"This isn't fair," Tim said childishly. He didn't realize that he was probably proving his father's point be talking like that.

"No, last night wasn't fair. Do you have any idea how scared I was? You knew that psycho was out there. For all I knew, he could've killed you before I got there. He almost did. There is no way in hell I'm going to let that happen again," Gibbs said firmly. "Now obviously I can't trust you to keep yourself safe, so I'm going to have

Tim felt about two inches tall right now. His father being angry at him and punishing him was bad enough, but the disappointment and lack of trust was ten times worse. Even worse than that, it was all his fault.

"I. Will. Not. Bury. Another. Child," Gibbs stressed.

Tim felt like the worst person in the world in that instant. He hadn't even thought about the fact that his father had already lost one child. What had he been thinking by nearly putting the man through that again? What kind of son did something like that knowing what his father had been through in the past? "Oh God. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Gibbs softened a little. "Tim, there is nothing worse than losing a child. Nothing comes worse to that feeling. I won't go through that again. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Tim said. "What can I do to make you trust me again?"

"I'm not sure. It's going to take time. Time and a lot of work, but we'll get through it. I'm still going to be here for you. Always, son," Gibbs promised. He felt the need to remind his son once more that even though he was really mad right now, it didn't change the way he felt about him.

"I'm really sorry," Tim said again.

Gibbs nodded. "We will get past this. It'll just take some time. For now though, you need to get some rest. I'm sure you're still feeling out of sorts."

"Yeah, my head kinda hurts," Tim admitted.

Gibbs smirked. "Be grateful. If you didn't have a concussion, your head would have a permanent imprint of my hand."

Tim laughed nervously. He had no doubt about that fact.

"Go upstairs. I'll come up with some pain killers," Gibbs said.

Tim nodded before getting up and heading out of the room.


	34. Chapter 34

Tim was on his way to the kitchen to get a drink when he heard a knock on the door. He quickly backtracked and went to the front door. When he opened the door, he found Ducky on the other side. "Oh, hey Ducky. What brings you here?"

"Hello, Timothy. I just thought I would stop by and see how you're doing. May I come in?" Ducky asked.

"Oh, of course," Tim said before stepping aside.

"You appear to be talking better," Ducky commented. There was still a scratchiness to his voice, but it was much better than the night before.

"Yeah, it's still hurts a bit when I talk, but it's much better now," Tim said as he led the way into the living room. They both sat down on the couch.

"And you're head?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah, that still hurts quite a bit sometimes, but they gave me some pain killers for it. I'll be okay though. The thing that hurts most is my conscience," Tim said. He still felt really guilty for the pain and worry he'd caused his father.

"I assume you're talking about your rather reckless actions last night. Would I be correct in the assumption that Jethro had a few choice words for you regarding the subject?" Ducky asked.

"Oh, yeah. More than a few. He thoroughly chewed my ass out," Tim replied.

"Well, I hate to say this, Timothy, but I believe you had it coming," Ducky said.

Tim nodded. He knew Ducky was right about that fact. He deserved every word his father said to him. "I know. I screwed up big time. I was so unbelievably stupid. Worse, I hurt somebody who only ever went out of his way to make my life better, even before he knew I was his son. Know what he said to me today? He said that he wouldn't lose another child."

Ducky nodded. That didn't surprise him. Losing his daughter had to be the worst thing to ever happen to Jethro. Seeing his son nearly die as well must have taken him back to that dark place. "I can only imagine what it must be like to lose a child. It must be the worst pain imaginable."

"Yeah, and I almost did it to him again," Tim said guiltily. He couldn't believe what he'd done to his own father. He'd put him through hell and had almost made him live through his worst fear a second time.

"Why did you?" Ducky asked.

"I don't know. I was mad. We'd just gotten into a big fight and I wanted to get out."

"What were you fighting about anyway?" Ducky asked. Jethro told him that he and Tim had fought, but not what it had been about.

"Well, back at the office yesterday, I went looking for Gibbs. I needed him to sign something. Anyway, just as I found him, I saw my mother coming out of an interrogation room. She tried to talk to me, but he wouldn't let her. He pushed me in the other direction and ordered me back to my desk," Tim explained.

"Did you want to talk to her?" Ducky asked.

"No, not really," Tim admitted. He didn't really want to talk to his mother, but he still would've liked to have the choice. "But it should've been my decision to make, shouldn't it?"

Ducky could certainly understand where Timothy was coming from. He felt that as an adult, he should be able to make his own decisions. He could also see Jethro's point of view as well. The man probably felt the need to protect his son from the women, and given Timothy's painful past, it was probably necessary. "Let me ask you a question, Timothy. What would've happened if you'd spoken to your mother?"

Tim knew exactly what would've happened. His mother would've tried to make him feel guilty about everything that was happening. "She would've tried to make me see things from her side. She would've defended Brad and made me and my father the bad guys."

"And would you have been able to defend yourself against that?" Ducky asked. He had a hard time believing he would. Timothy was a mess when he was away from those people. There was no way he'd have been able to withstand pressure from them.

"Well, no," Tim admitted. There was no way he'd be able to defend himself against it. He'd stood up to his mother exactly one time and that was when she told him the truth about Gibbs. And that didn't really count because it was mostly the blind anger talking. If he'd been less angry, there was no way he would've been able to do that.

"Timothy, I can certainly understand why your father's actions upset you, but I think he made the right decision. I honestly don't think your barely tangible self-image could've taken another blow.

Tim had to admit that Ducky was probably right about that. A meeting with his mother would've probably taken right back to the worthlessness he was so used to feeling. His father probably knew that and was trying to prevent that. And not only had Tim not seen it, but he'd hurt the man because of it.

Tim was pulled from his thoughts when his father entered the room. "Oh, hey, Duck. What brings you by?" Gibbs asked.

Ducky stood up from the couch. "Hello, Jethro. I just thought I'd come by and see how Timothy was doing. Then we got to talking a bit."

"Oh, well, it's good to see you at any rate," Gibbs said.

"Well, I need to get going. I'll see you tomorrow," Ducky said. He felt it was time for him to go. He was sure that Timothy wanted to speak with his father now.

"See you tomorrow. Thanks for checking on Tim," Gibbs said.

Ducky nodded and walked out the door.

Gibbs went over and sat next to his son. He could see that the kid had something he needed to get off his chest. "What's up?"

Tim looked over at him. "I'm sorry."

Gibbs sighed. "We've been through this, Tim. You've apologized many times already. We're dealing with it. You don't have to keep apologizing."

"No, not that. Trust me, I'm still very, very sorry about that, but that's not what I meant," Tim said.

That definitely got Gibbs' attention. He wasn't sure what else his son would have to apologize for. "What is it then?"

"I shouldn't have gotten so mad last night. I mean, it's not like I even wanted to see my mother. I guess I was just angry that you didn't leave the decision up to me."

Gibbs nodded. "And I understood that anger. If I were you, I'd probably be angry too. Now that being said, I don't regret doing what I did. You may not like it, but I will protect you from anything that I think will hurt you. Your mother is one of those things. I'm not going to let her pull you back into her twisted game. I think you know that. One conversation is all it would take for her to pull you three steps backwards. And that is something that I will not allow."

"Yeah, I get that now. I know you were just trying to protect me. I just wish I'd seen that before doing something incredibly stupid," Tim said. He really wished he'd figured all this out last night. He could have saved all of them a whole lot of grief.

"Tim, stupid things are a part of life. Everyone does them sometimes. Ask your grandfather sometime about what I was like as a teenager. I'm sure he'd be happy to tell you some pretty interesting stories," Gibbs said. He'd been far from perfect when he was a kid.

"I'm not a kid though. I should've known better," he said.

"Oh, I agree, but I understand why you didn't. You weren't taught the way kids are supposed to. We learn from our role models, Tim. All your role models ever taught you was that you weren't worthy of love and that sooner or later, everyone will turn on you. Then I came along and started shattering that belief," Gibbs said. He in no way regretted that fact, but he knew it was pretty confusing for his son. "I suspect that's partially why you did what you did. I started showing you that not everyone was like your mother and stepfather. And you were starting to believe me when I said I'd always be here for you, but you weren't sure you could trust it, so you tested it."

"Maybe," Tim conceded. It did make sense. He had found himself wondering many times how long it would be and how far he could push his father before the man walked away from him. "I have wondered. Wondered how far I'd be able to push you, and what your reaction to it would be."

"Well, now you know. Was it worth it?" Gibbs asked. He was still quite upset about it. He knew why Tim had done it and even understood his son's need to test him, but that didn't mean he was just going to let it go.

"No. No, it definitely wasn't worth hurting you or losing your trust. But in my defense, I didn't even realize why I was doing it at the time. And when I realized exactly what I had done, I was going to come back," Tim said.

"But you didn't."

"I got scared when I saw your name on my caller ID. I knew you were mad and I was afraid of how you were going to react," Tim told him.

"You're right, I was mad. But not nearly as mad as I was when you ignored my calls. If you'd answered the phone or come back right away, yeah, of course I still would've still been mad, but it wouldn't have been nearly as bad as it was. You made this worse for yourself by ignoring me, in more ways than one," Gibbs told him.

Tim looked down in shame. He still felt really guilty for what he did.

Gibbs reached over and lifted his son's chin until there were on him. "Hey, we're going to get through this. I'm not Brad or your mother. I'm not going to belittle you or attack you because I'm mad, okay?"

"So you can forgive me?"

"Tim, forgiveness was never a question. You're my son. I've already forgiven you. Trust is another matter. That's going to take us awhile to get back, but we will. Until then, you'll be sticking by my side like glue," Gibbs said smiling slightly. "Now, we don't have to discuss this again. It's dealt with. Okay?"

"Okay," Tim said. This whole conversation actually made him feel a lot better. Yes, he still felt guilty for hurting his dad, but after this conversation, he felt like he might finally be able to trust that the man wasn't going to abandon him. He couldn't honestly say that his issues were gone because they weren't, but he was starting to feel like things would be okay. His father was there and he wasn't going to leave.


	35. Chapter 35

Ziva walked into the bullpen at NCIS and saw Tony sitting at his desk on his computer. "Good morning, Tony," she said on her way to her desk.

"Hey," Tony said distractedly.

Ziva looked at him perplexed. Usually by now, Tony would've looked at her with his goofy grin and made a joke. "Tony, are you alright?"

"Fine," Tony muttered.

Ziva went over to his desk. "You are not. What is wrong?"

"Nothing. It's just… I keep thinking about Tim," Tony said.

Ziva sighed. "Yes, I have been thinking about him as well. I think we all have."

"You know, I used to think Tim was the lucky one out of all of us. He was supposedly the one who had this great family. What a joke that turned out to be," Tony said. The other night had really opened his eyes. Sure he knew before then that Tim's stepfather wasn't exactly ideal, but he never thought the man would go so far as to try to kill him.

"He didn't want us to know the truth. He hid it well," Ziva said.

"No, he didn't. Tim doesn't hide anything well. When I think about it, I can see signs. You didn't see him when he showed up, but he was really, really insecure and nervous. He stuttered all the time and was very careful about everything he said. I made fun of that. I used it to my advantage," Tony said. He felt extremely guilty for doing that. He hadn't meant to, but he knew his words had most likely caused his friend even more pain.

"Tony, this is not your fault," Ziva said.

"That Tim was treated horribly by his the stepdad from hell? You're right, that's not my fault. But the fact that I added to his pain is," Tony said seriously. "You know, Gibbs pulled me aside a few weeks ago. He wanted me to be careful about what I said to Tim in the future. At first I didn't understand it. I thought it was just because he didn't want me picking on his son. Then we had that lunch and ran into the creep Tim used to call his father. That's when I started to see it. I saw more when I followed Tim into the men's room that day. He had a meltdown and he talked a little about what it was like growing up with a man like that. It was in that moment that I knew just how much worse I must've made things for him."

"Tony, you didn't know. You wouldn't have said the things you did if you'd known. Tim knows that," Ziva said.

"Does he?" Tony asked.

The question was left unanswered as Gibbs and Tim walked into the bullpen. "You two, grab your gear. We've got a dead marine," Gibbs said as he went to get the keys to the truck. He tossed them at Tony and then led the way back to the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxx

About twenty minutes later, everyone got out of the truck. "Alright, Tony, start taking pictures. Ziva, bag and tag the evidence. Tim, you go talk to the witness."

Tim nodded and went over to a young woman who was standing near a couple of officers. "I've got it from here."

The officers nodded and walked away.

Tim turned to the woman. "Hi, I'm Special Agent… McGee." He hesitated a little before adding the last part. He cringed every time he had to tell people that his last name was McGee. He preferred the idea of eating glass.

"Mary Phillips," the young woman said.

"Can you tell me what you saw?" Tim asked.

"Yeah. I was walking through the park when I actually tripped over the guy's foot," she said, sounding really creeped out. "I called the police immediately.

"Okay, that was good. Did you notice anything else?" Tim asked.

Mary shook her head.

"Alright, that's all we need for now. We'll call you if we have any more questions," Tim said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Sarah was in her room at Gibbs' house on her laptop when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in!"

The door opened and Tim walked in. "Hey."

"Hey. What's up. Is everything okay?" Sarah asked as she closed her computer.

"I, uh, want to talk to you about something," Tim said as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Oh God, what happened now?" Sarah asked nervously. Every time someone said that lately it was because her father pulled another stunt.

"No, it's nothing like that, I promise. I've just been thinking about something a bit lately and I wanted to talk to you about it," Tim said.

"Sure. What's up?" Sarah asked as she sat up.

"You know that I love you, right? You'll always be my sister. Nothing can change that."

"Okay, why do I get the feeling you're about to tell me something I'm going to hate?" Sarah asked. She had a really bad feeling about this.

"I honestly don't know how you're going to feel about this. I just don't want you to take it the wrong way," Tim said.

"What is it?" Sarah asked. She was starting to get worried again. Her brother was obviously upset.

"I wanna change my name," Tim finally said. He'd thought about it for a little while now, but after having to speak his last name today, he wanted to do it even more. "I can't stand it when people call me 'McGee.' It makes me want to tear my hair out or punch my fist through a wall. It's not much better when I have to speak it myself."

"How long have you felt this way?" Sarah asked.

"Since I found out the truth," he replied.

Sarah nodded. "I think you should do it."

"You do?" Tim asked mildly surprised. He was anticipating her having a problem with it. He thought it might upset her to know that they would no longer have the same last name.

"Yeah. I think it would be good for you. Maybe it would be a step towards you finally freeing yourself from Dad," Sarah said. She would admit to herself that it would sadden her a little that they would no longer have the same last name, but it would be better for her brother in the long run. He needed to free himself from the warped monster that was her father.

"Yeah, I don't know if I'll ever be free of him," Tim said.

"You will. They're going to find Dad and make sure he never hurts you again," she assured him.

"That's not what I meant. Even if they find him, I'm not sure I'll ever be free of him," Tim said. Right now Brad affected every choice he made. The man was everywhere. Even when he was millions of miles away, he was still screwing with him. "He's in my head, Sarah. And I don't know how to get him out. I mean, I know the way I think is wrong. I know that I have more issues than practically anyone. And no matter how much I try, I don't know if I'll ever get rid of them."

Sarah put her hand on her brother's shoulder to comfort him. "You will. It won't be easy, but I truly believe that in time, you'll be able to get though life without worrying about someone trying to hurt you or abandoning you. And you won't have to go through this alone. I'll be here for you and so will Gibbs. By the way, does he know about your desire to take his name. I'm assuming that's the plan."

"Yeah, it is. And no, he doesn't know yet. I wanted to tell you first. I have no idea how he's going to feel about it," Tim said. He thought after his last conversation with his father that maybe he'd be past the fear of the man rejecting him, but it was still there a little. He couldn't help but be a little insecure about how his father was going to react to this. What if he didn't want him to take his name?

Sarah sighed. Speaking of her brother's issues, there was one right there. "You're still scared he's going to walk out on you."

"Well, not so much anymore. We talked the day he brought me back from the hospital. He really laid into me for what I did the night before," Tim told her.

"Yeah, I figured he would," Sarah said. Gibbs did not strike her as the kind of guy to just let it fly when someone he cared about did something so stupid.

"Know what he said afterwards though? He said that he was still there for me. He told me he forgave me and always would. He made it clear that no matter how badly I screwed up, he'd never leave me. And I believed him. For the most part anyway. I part of me still can't help but be insecure though."

"I know. Like I said, this isn't something that's just going to go away tomorrow. You're going to have trouble with it for a while. But if you believed your dad when he said he wouldn't leave you, I think that means that things getting a little better," Sarah said. Usually her brother wouldn't just believe that, so the fact that he believe what Gibbs said at the time meant that things were starting to get better for him. "Just talk to him. Tell him what you want. I think he'll surprise you."

Tim nodded and stood up. "Well, I better do it now before I lose my nerve," he said before walking out the door.


	36. Chapter 36

Tim walked down to the basement and found his father at his usual position at the boat. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey. I've been waiting for you to come talk to me," Gibbs said. He knew that something was bothering his son. It had been evident ever since the crime scene.

"You have?" Tim asked surprised.

"Yup. You've been distracted all day. It better not be because you've heard from McGee," Gibbs warned. If that was the reason, his son should've come to him right away.

"It's not," Tim assured him.

"Alright, then what's going on?" Gibbs asked.

Tim took a deep breath. He was really scared about his father's reaction. He felt every insecurity he had coming to the surface. "When I interviewed the witness today, I had to give her my name."

Gibbs stayed silent and waited for his son to go on.

"I hate it when I have to tell people that, and when they call me by my last name. It makes my blood run cold. I hate it," Tim said.

Gibbs nodded understandingly. He could understand why his son hated it so much. Who would want to be associated with man that did nothing but torture him his whole life? "Go on."

"Okay. Just so you know, you can say no. It's not a big deal. I mean I hope you'll say yes, but-"

"Tim!" Gibbs said loudly to get the young man's attention. Calm down and tell me what it is." He had a pretty good idea already, but he felt that Tim needed to say it himself.

"I wanna change my last name. I wanna take your name," Tim finally said.

Gibbs inwardly smiled. It warmed his heart to know that his son wanted to take his last name. There was nothing he wanted more than for the whole world to know that Tim was his just by hearing the young man's last name.

"If you don't want me to, it's fine. I-"

"Hey," Gibbs interrupted before walking over to him. "Do you remember what I told you when you asked me what would've happened if I'd known about you when you were a child?"

"Yeah. You said that you would've filed for custody of me," Tim said. He remembered it and had been touched by it, but he didn't understand what it had to do with anything.

"And you'd already have my name wouldn't you?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, yeah, but it's different," Tim said.

"No, it's not, not to me," Gibbs said before placing his hands on Tim's shoulders. "Listen to me. You are my son. I would be honored if you took my name. But I do want you to know that it's not necessary. I will love you no matter what you chose to call yourself. I don't see you different because your last name is the same as that bastard. I don't associate you with him. I want you to know that.

"I know," Tim said. He did know that his father didn't associate him with Brad. He proved that much every day by sticking by him.

"Good," Gibbs said before pulling the younger man into a hug. "Then if you want my name, I'll be happy to share it with you."

Tim relaxed in his father's arms. He felt like a weight had been lifted. He had been really worried about the man's reaction. He wasn't entirely sure why. His father had made it very clear that he loved him. He supposed it was part of his issue of abandonment.

After a few moments, Gibbs pulled away. "You know what, I think this is going to be good for you. I think that it might help you. Maybe it'll pave the way to helping you get out from underneath Brad."

"That's what Sarah said. I had to talk to her first. I had to make sure she'd be okay with it," Tim said.

Gibbs nodded. He understood that. Sarah and Tim had only had each other for so long. It only made sense that they would talk to each other before making big decisions. "And I take it she was?"

"Yeah. She took it better than I thought. I thought she'd be mad that I wanted to ditch her name, but she wasn't. She understood it and said it would be for the best," Tim explained.

"I think she's right. You gotta let him go. It's the only way you'll truly move on," Gibbs said.

Tim laughed humorlessly before sitting down on one of the work benches. "Trust me, there's nothing I'd like more. I don't want him in my head. But I don't know how to get him out either. I doubt a simple name change is going to do that."

"Not completely, no, but I think it'll help. Maybe by cutting all obvious ties to him, it'll be easier for you to get out from underneath him," he said.

"But I'm still tied to him through Sarah, and I won't walk away from her," Tim said with conviction. He would never walk away from Sarah. She meant everything to him. She was his sister. That was a bond they'd have for life."

"No, Sarah's not his anymore. Not anymore than you are. He's never put her first. He's a soulless bastard that should've never been allowed to have children. He's not her father. That's a title that has to be earned," Gibbs said.

"She loves him though. She doesn't want to, but she does. I know because it's the same way I feel about my mother," Tim said. As much as he wished he didn't, he loved his mother. He couldn't help it.

"You wanna talk about that?" Gibbs asked. He wouldn't force the issue, but if Tim wanted to talk about his mother, he would be there to listen.

"There's not much to say. She ruined my life. I hate her for it, but I love her at the same time. I don't want to, but I can't help it," Tim said.

Gibbs nodded. He wasn't surprised by his son's feelings. It was natural. "That's why I don't you seeing her right now. You need to figure out your own feelings, as well as learn how to stand up for your own feelings. I don't want her trying to use the fragile state your mind is in to try to get her own way.

"I understand. I didn't at first, but I do now," Tim said. "Was she always like this?"

Gibbs pondered the question for a minute. "Well, I didn't think so. I mean, she always played games with people. She did with me and McGee for months."

"Do you think that's why he is the way he is?" Tim asked curiously. He hated to think that his mother could be responsible for someone turning out so evil, but it seemed possible. The way his father was talking told him that Brad might have become who he was partially because of the games his mother played.

"No. He was always an ass. Besides, you make your own choices in life. When you do something like purposely trying to destroy a child, that's on you, not anyone else," Gibbs said. He was a firm believer in free will. Clare had played him as well and he didn't turn into a person who was intentionally cruel. McGee had tormented Tim and Tim didn't turn into a monster either. No, McGee was the way he was because of McGee.

Tim nodded. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I guess I'm just trying to figure out why."

"Why? I don't think it matters why. I frankly don't care why he is the way he is. It doesn't matter to me. It isn't going to make me hate him less for what he did to you. And I don't think it's going to make you feel any better either," Gibbs said. He really didn't give a damn what pathetic reason McGee had for hurting Tim. No reason was good enough for the man inflicting psychological, and now physical harm onto his son.

"I supposed not. I guess I just want a way that I can make this all hurt less," Tim said.

Gibbs put a comforting hand on his son's shoulder. He didn't bother saying anything. Tim didn't need to hear anything right now. What he needed was someone to be there for him, and that was something Gibbs could do.


	37. Chapter 37

Tony walked up to Gibbs' front door and knocked. It was the first non-work day they'd had since Tim was attacked and he wanted to have a one on one talk with him.

The door was opened a second later by Tim. "Tony, hey. Come on in. What are you doing here?"

Tony stepped inside. "Hey. I was wondering if you wanted to go grab a bite to eat."

"I can't," Tim said.

"Why not? We can take the security detail with us," Tony said.

"That's not it," Tim said. He knew there was no way in hell his father was going to let leave the house without him. It hadn't even been a full week since his big screw-up.

"Well, then what is it?" Tony asked.

Tim hesitated. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell Tony how his father had reacted to him sneaking out of the house that night. He might laugh at him. Then again though, Tony had been in a similar position once. "Do you remember that time that you went into that warehouse after a suspect when Gibbs specifically told you to stay back and almost got shot?"

Tony cringed. Oh, he remembered it alright. The back of his head still stung from it. Gibbs had been pissed. He slapped him harder than ever before and had pretty much chained him to his desk for three weeks straight. "I've tried to block out that memory, but yes, I remember."

"Well, try being his son and leaving the house while your murderous stepfather is on the loose," Tim said as he led the way into the living room.

"So basically, you're grounded," Tony said smirking. Normally that would sound crazy when talking about a grown adult, but it was Gibbs. He wouldn't care about something like that.

"Basically," Tim said as they both sat down on the couch. "So if you wanna talk, we're going to have to do it here."

"That works I guess. I, uh, wanted to say I'm sorry," Tony said.

Tim looked at him in confusion. "For what? You don't have anything to apologize for."

"Yes, I do. When we first met, I saw you as this little rookie that I could kick around. I-"

"Tony, you don't have to do this," Tim said. He knew exactly where this was going and he didn't like it. He didn't want to talk about the past or how Tony had messed with him.

"Please, just let me finish," Tony said. "You were this green little probie who couldn't even get through a whole sentence without stuttering. It was easy to kick you around." He wasn't proud of it, but that was mainly why he'd messed with Tim at first. He'd always just take. None of his other partners had ever been that easy to mess with. Ziva would've probably killed him with a paperclip and Kate would've kicked the crap out of him.

"Yeah," Tim said stiffly. The conversation was beginning to bug him. He hadn't realized it until now, but the things Tony said and did in the past really did bother him.

"I know now much I must have hurt you. I didn't at the time though. I didn't think about how it might hurt you."

"You didn't really think about me at all, did you?" Tim asked.

Tony cringed. He knew that there was a really good chance that Tim would be upset with him, but hearing it in his voice bothered him. "No, I guess not. You were just the new guy. Someone for me to break in."

"Someone for you to kick around, you mean," Tim clarified. He hadn't expected to be this bitter about it, but then again, he'd never really gotten the chance to express it before.

"Yeah. It wasn't personal. I know that sounds really stupid and hollow, but it wasn't. It was done to me when I was a rookie. It was like an initiation," Tony explained.

"But you didn't do that to Kate or Ziva," Tim pointed out.

"That's because they would've killed me," Tony said honestly.

"So we go back to the part where I was easy to mess with," he said.

"Yeah, I guess so. I didn't mean to hurt you though. I swear I didn't."

"I know that, Tony. I know you would never intentionally hurt me. The problem is you did. The things you said reminded me of all the horrible things I've been told my whole life. You may have meant them as jokes, but I didn't see them that way," Tim said. He knew his friend hadn't been trying to hurt him, but most of the things Tony said, he couldn't help but take seriously.

"I'm sorry, man. I get now how they must have hurt you. What I didn't see the day I met stepdaddy dearest, I saw when you had that meltdown in the bathroom," Tony told him.

"Now I owe you the apology. I never should've blown up at you the way I did," Tim said. He said some things that day that weren't fair to Tony. He'd brought up his father and made it seem like his pain wasn't as important. That wasn't fair.

"No, you were right. I don't have any clue about what you've been through. Yeah, my dad is a world class bastard, but he was nothing like your stepfather. I can't even imagine being told by my own father how worthless I am. I can't imagine being stalked by him and endlessly harassed. I never thought I'd say this, but you definitely win the crappy dad award," Tony said. He used to think that Tim was the lucky one. He'd always acted like his family was great. The kind you saw on TV. But that was just what it was. An act. Up until his real paternity was discovered, Tim's life had been anything but happy. "Well, until recently anyway. You lucked out with Gibbs. Even if he did blow up at you for being stupid."

"Hey, look who's talking. You've done plenty of stupid things," Tim said.

"Very true. My middle name is stupid," Tony said jokingly.

"You got that right, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he walked by one his way to the kitchen.

Tony turned to Tim in bewilderment. "How does he always do that?"

Tim shrugged his shoulders. "Abby has a theory that he has ESP."

"If he had ESP you'd have been dead before you even made it out the back door that day," Tony said.

Tim laughed. "Good point."

Tony got serious again. "So are we okay."

"Yeah, we're fine. I mean, I won't deny that the things you said did hurt, or that I'm even a little angry about it, but deep down I know you weren't trying to hurt me," Tim said. He wouldn't deny that it bothered him a little, but he could forgive Tony. He knew that unlike Brad, Tony hadn't gone out of his way to hurt him.

Tony nodded and stood up. "Alright, I better go. I have a date with this really hot blond tonight."

Just then, Gibbs entered the room. "The only place you're going is Quantico. We've got a dead marine."

Tony groaned. "Oh, come on, Boss, it's our day off."

"Tony, do you not remember me telling you yesterday that we were on call this weekend?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And did you forget what the phrase 'on call' means?" Gibbs asked sarcastically.

Tony shook his head.

"Didn't think so. Let's go."

Tony sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have come here."

"Oh please, like he wouldn't have called you in by phone," Tim said as they headed for the door.

"Yeah, but I could've pretended to lose my phone," Tony muttered under his breath. Apparently he wasn't as quiet as he thought he was because no sooner than he said it did he feel a whack to the back of the head. "Ow. Thanks, Boss."


	38. Chapter 38

Sarah made her way through the hotel her mother was staying at with her guard dog, Agent Matheson. She wanted to talk to her mother about Tim and try to get her to tell her where her father was hiding.

Sarah stopped at the hallway where her mother's room was and turned to Agent Matheson. "It's okay, you can wait here."

"Ma'am, I'm supposed to go with you everywhere," Agent Matheson said.

"Look, I'm just going a couple of doors down to talk to my mother. I'll be fine," Sarah assured him.

"Well, alright," the agent said reluctantly.

Sarah started to walk again but stopped and turned back to Agent Matheson. "And there's no reason to mention this to your boss either." She had the feeling Gibbs wouldn't be happy that she'd come here. He'd told her to stay away from her mother until this was over, but she felt she had to come. She had to find a way to stop her father once and for all.

"Oh, I don't know about that."

"Your job is to protect me, right? Not to tell Gibbs my every move," Sarah said.

"Well, yes, but I can't lie to Gibbs. The man is walking, talking lie detector. He'll know," Agent Matheson said nervously. The idea of having to lie to Agent Gibbs scared the hell out of him. He wouldn't survive that.

"You don't have to lie to him. If he asks you specifically, by all means, tell him. Just don't offer up the information," she told him.

"Well, I suppose I can do that."

"Great," Sarah said before heading in the direction of her mother's hotel room. Once there, she knocked on the door.

The door was opened a second later, revealing Clare. "Sarah. I'm glad you're here. Come in."

Sarah wordless entered the room.

Clare closed the door and turned to her daughter. "How are you?"

"I've been better. I have armed NCIS agents following me at all times and I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, so you know, I'm kind of pissed," Sarah said. Her anger wasn't directed at Gibbs or the other agents. There were just trying to protect her. No, her anger was directed at her parents.

"Why are you being guarded? Is something wrong?" Clare asked.

"Why am I being guarded? Because Dad has lost his freaking mind!" Sarah exclaimed

Clare sighed. "Honey, you can't listen to Jethro. He's blowing things out of proportion."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "When was he blowing things out of proportion, Mom? When Dad trashed Tim's apartment? When he started sending him threatening messages? Or was it when he tried to kill him?"

"What are you talking about?" Clare asked.

"Oh, that's right, you don't know. Probably because your too far up Dad's ass to care. Dad tried to kill Tim. He was apparently lying in wait for him at his apartment for a while, and when Tim finally got there, he tried to strangle him."

Clare shook her head in denial. "No, that can't be true.

Sarah laughed humorlessly. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you're defending him again. You always defend him. I was just kind of hoping that things would be different if you found out he actually physically hurt one of your kids. I guess not."

"Sarah, your father would never hurt Tim. How can you think that?" Clare asked.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because I know him. I've seen the way he treats Tim, and unlike you, I don't turn a blind eye to it. Also, Tim told me he did it," Sarah said.

"Sarah, Tim doesn't know what he's saying. He's confused. Jethro is putting things in his head. Tim's probably just saying what he thinks Jethro wants to hear.

Sarah couldn't believe it. She'd seen and heard a lot of whacked things from her mother, but this was beyond pathetic. Now she was accusing Tim of lying and being manipulated by his father. "My God. What is wrong with you? How can you call your own son a liar? Don't you have any feelings for Tim? He's your son!"

"Of course I care about Tim. I love him," Clare insisted.

"No, I don't think you do. I don't think you ever did. I think you love me some, not enough to get rid of, Dad, but a little. But not Tim. You don't give a damn about him. I think you pretend to, and maybe you've even convinced yourself that you do, but it's a lie," Sarah said. She wasn't sure why, but she knew now that her mother didn't really care about her brother. She'd showed absolutely no emotion upon hearing that Tim had nearly died. All she seemed to care about was defending her crazy husband and vilifying Gibbs. "I don't know you hate Tim so much. Is it because of Gibbs? Do you really hate him so much that you transferred that hatred onto your own son?"

"I do not hate Tim, Sarah. How can you think that?" Clare asked, sounding outraged.

"Maybe you don't hate him, but you sure as hell don't love him. You know something though? That's okay. He doesn't need you. He has me and he has his father. Not to mention countless friends and colleagues who'd do anything for him," Sarah said.

"He's gotten to you too. Sarah, you can't listen to Jethro. He's just trying to turn you against me. He's already done it to Tim. Do you know that he won't even let Tim talk to me? He pushed Tim away from me when I tried to talk to him. It's because he knows I'd be able to get through to him and get him to stop all of this," Clare explained.

"That's the first thing you've said so far that's true. That's exactly why. Gibbs knows the affect you and Dad have on Tim. He knows that you will guilt Tim and pressure him until he sees things your way. So he made sure you didn't get the chance. Not that it mattered much. Tim doesn't want to see you," Sarah said. She knew that was true. Despite the anger Tim had felt for Gibbs when he refused to let him see their mother, she knew it wasn't because he wanted to see her. She knew he really didn't.

"That's because of Jethro."

"No, mother. It's because of you. Because of the way you treat him," Sarah said. "You're never going to see Tim again. That's because of Gibbs. He's never going to let you near him. The same goes for me. This is the last time you'll ever see me. I'm done with you."

"You don't mean that," She said.

"Oh, yes I do. I can't even stand to be near you. I don't want anything to do with you. As far as I'm concerned, you don't have children anymore. The only thing you have now is a crazy husband whose hell bent on killing your son. I hope you'll be happy with that," Sarah said before walking towards the door. She'd gone there to try to find out where her father was, but she knew now that her mother was never going to tell her where he was even if she knew, so it was time to go.

"Sarah, don't go. Sarah wait!"

Sarah ignored her and continued out of the room. From there, she and her NCIS detail walked to their cars and left. Neither noticed the third car tailing them.


	39. Chapter 39

Sarah walked into Gibbs' house and found her brother in the living room. "Hey."

"Hey. Where have you been?" Tim asked. By the time he and his father got back from the office, Sarah was gone.

"I, uh, went to the library," Sarah lied.

Tim raised an eyebrow. And he thought he was a bad liar. "I sincerely hope that you lie better than that when you talk to Gibbs. He's going to see right through that. Actually, my advice is to not lie at all. Come clean about whatever you did because it'll be much better for you if you do."

"What makes you think I did anything?" Sarah asked. She had technically, but what made Tim think so.

"People don't generally lie when they're innocent," Tim said

"What makes you think I'm lying?" she asked.

"Because you suck at it more than I do, and that is truly saying something," Tim said. He knew he was a horrible liar, but Sarah was ten times worse. "So where were you really?"

Sarah sighed before going over and sitting next to her brother on the couch. "Promise not to tell?"

"I promise not to volunteer any information. I won't lie. I won't give my father another reason not to trust me," Tim told her. He was working overtime to get his dad to trust him again. He wasn't going to risk losing it all again by lying.

"I went to see Mom," Sarah told him.

"What's so bad about that? You took Matheson with you, right?" Tim asked. Unless Matheson didn't go with Sarah, he didn't see why Sarah was afraid of telling his father that.

"He sorta told me not to do that," Sarah said looking away.

"When?" Tim asked. He didn't remember his father telling Sarah that. He'd told him that, but not Sarah to his knowledge.

"The same day you came home pissed off. He told me how angry you were about him keeping you from talking to Mom and that he didn't want me going near Mon either," Sarah explained.

Tim cringed. 'And you did it anyway?" What was she crazy? That was beyond stupid. Did she really not remember how hard his father had come down on him when he defied him?

"I had to, Tim. Dad tried to kill you. I needed to tell her that," Sarah said.

"She doesn't care. He could've actually killed me, and she still would've found a way to excuse it," Tim said bitterly. He hated it, but he knew it was true.

"I know," Sarah said sadly. "Anyway, I also wanted to see if Dad was there. I wanted to end this."

"You thought Brad was there?" Tim asked. That made it so much worse. He knew his father. He would see that as Sarah putting herself in danger, which was something he didn't take lightly. Both he and Tony had paid dearly for it when they both did it. "Oh, that's going to make things worse."

"What do you mean?" Sarah asked nervously. Something told her she wasn't going to like this.

"Gibbs going to see that as putting yourself in danger. That's going make even more pissed off than the fact that you defied him," Tim explained.

"Well, what's he going to do? It's not like he can punish me like you. I'm not his kid."

Tim burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. The fact that his sister even though that that mattered was hilarious. "That's a good one, Sarah. Like that matters."

Sarah glared at her brother. "Would you stop laughing at me?"

Tim cleared his throat to try to stop laughing. "I'm sorry, Sarah, but I just can't believe you actually believe that. Where exactly do you think you've been living the last couple of weeks? Does Gibbs really seem like the type to care that you don't have his blood flowing though you? He took you into his home. You heard what he said to Brad on the phone. You're his now, for better or worse."

Sarah took a few moments to let that sink in. She kind of liked that. It was nice to know that someone cared enough to help her and protect her. She'd never really had anyone to protect her like that before. There was Tim, but mostly it was the other way around with him. She was always the one that had to protect him because he was the one always getting hurt. She didn't mind being there for her brother, but she was glad she would now have someone.

Suddenly, Sarah realized the other side of that. She'd just deliberately disobeyed the man that Tim said considered her one of his children. This would not end well. "Oh God. This is going to be bad, isn't it?"

"Well, the way I see it, you can handle this one of two ways. You can come clean and place yourself at his mercy. He'll be pissed, but less pissed than if you lie or try to hide it. Your second option is to keep your mouth shut and hope he doesn't find out. I personally recommend the first option, but something tells me you're going to go with the second one. He knew his sister well. She would much rather try to get away with things than tell the truth and face the music.

"You know me, big brother. If I admit what happened, I'll definitely be in trouble. If I don't, I might get in trouble, but it's possible that I'll get away with it," Sarah said. The decision seemed obvious to her. She'd much rather just keep quiet and hope she didn't get caught.

"Not likely."

They both then heard the sound of glass breaking from outside. "What the hell was that?" Sarah asked.

"Good question," Tim said. He was about to go to the front door to check when Agent Stevens came in from the back door.

"Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. What's going on?" Tim asked.

"Just stay inside," Agent Stevens said before rushing out again.

Sarah went over to the window and noticed a car speeding away. "Tim."

"It's okay, Sarah. The agents will take care of it," Tim assured her. The agent in him felt like he should be out there as well, but he knew he couldn't. If it was Brad, he'd be screwed. He couldn't defend himself against him.

"No, it's not that. A car just sped away. I think it followed me from the hotel," she said.

"Why would you think that?

"I saw it when I got into my car. I don't know why, but I noticed it when I left," Sarah said.

Soon, Agent Stevens came back in. "Gibbs is still gone, yes?"

"Yeah. He should be back soon though. What happened?" Tim asked.

"That idiot Matheson was sleeping on the job. He didn't notice as someone walked up the driveway and bashed your car windows in," Agent Stevens said. He then handed Tim a piece of paper. "This was left inside the car."

Tim took the note. It was made with magazine cut out letters and said, 'You're next.' It sent shivers up his spine. Everything this man did freaked him out. This wasn't over, not by a long shot. "Okay, Sarah. There's no longer an option. You have to tell Gibbs everything that happened today."


	40. Chapter 40

"Do one of you morons want to explain to me how the hell this could've happened? How the hell did the bastard get onto my property with the two of you just feet away? Were the two of you napping on the job?" Gibbs asked angrily. He was beyond livid. McGee had somehow managed to get onto his property, vandalize Tim's car, and get away, all before the supposed protection detail just feet away. "Speak damn it!"

Both agents flinched considerably. Agent Stevens spoke first. "Sir, I swear, I would've stopped it if I could. I was covering the back like you said. The first indication I got that there was something wrong was the sound of the windows breaking."

"Tell me exactly what you did from that point on," Gibbs ordered.

"I went inside to make sure Agent McGee and his sister were okay. I wanted make sure it wasn't just a trap to get us away from the house. After I made sure that they were okay, I immediately went back out to see what had happened. By the time I got there, a car was speeding away. I couldn't stop it," Agent Stevens explained.

Gibbs turned his glare to Matheson. "And where the hell were you when all this was going on?"

"I…I…I…"

"You what?" Gibbs demanded.

"I was g…guarding the fr… front door. I…I just didn't see him," Agent Matheson stammered.

"Okay, let's say that you went temporary blind for a minute. Did you lose you're hearing too?" Gibbs asked angrily.

"No sir."

"Then why in the hell didn't you respond to the ruckus going on just a few feet away from you!" Gibbs roared.

Tim and Sarah, who were watching from behind Gibbs, slipped out of the room and into the living room. "Oh God, this is bad," Sarah said. She'd never seen Gibbs like that. He was really pissed. There was no way she could tell him about what she did now.

"Matheson screwed up. He fell asleep on the job. Gibbs would never let that slide," Tim said. His father had a thing about Agents screwing like this on the job. Matheson would be lucky to just be fired by the time he was finished with him.

"Tim, I can't tell him that I went to see Mom," Sarah said.

"He's not going to do to you what he's doing to Matheson. Matheson was an agent assigned to protect us. If he'd been doing his job, this might have been over. That's not something Gibbs will take lightly," Tim said. "What you did is different. Yeah, he's going to be pissed, but he's not going to fly off the handle like he is with that agent. Besides, you have to tell him. He needs to know that Brad followed you."

"Well, I can just tell that I was there visiting a friend," Sarah said. That seemed like the best option right now.

"You do not want to do that," Tim said seriously. Lying to his father was a very, very bad idea. It would only serve to piss him off more.

"Why not? That way he knows Dad followed me, but doesn't want to kill me disobeying him.

"Well, for one, he won't believe you. You're a horrible liar and he can spot a lie from the opposite side of the globe. And lying will just make him even angrier. I'm telling you, don't do it," Tim warned.

Soon, Gibbs came into the room. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Tim said nervously as glanced at Sarah.

Gibbs caught the looks Tim and Sarah kept giving each other. Something was definitely up. "Is there something the two of you want to tell me?"

Tim gently nudged Sarah to get her to tell him.

"I… I think my dad followed me here," Sarah said.

"Why do you think that?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I recognized the car we saw speed off from earlier."

"Recognized it from where? Where were you?" Gibbs asked. He was getting the feeling that he was not going to be very happy about this.

"The Whitman Hotel," Sarah replied.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. That was where Clare was staying. Sarah had better not have gone there to see her. He'd made himself perfectly clear about that earlier. "And why were you there?"

"A friend of mine is staying there," Sarah lied. She couldn't help it. She did not want deal with possibly getting into trouble.

Tim shook his head sadly. He was really hoping Sarah would take his advice, but he supposed she had to learn the hard way why not to lie to his father.

Gibbs eyed them both suspiciously. It was obvious by looking at both of them that Sarah was lying. It also obvious that Tim had warned her against doing exactly that. Well, she was about to learn a very hard lesson. He did not tolerate being lied to. "Tim, go upstairs."

"Dad, I-"

"Now!" he ordered.

Tim gave his sister a sympathetic look before heading out of the room.

Gibbs looked at Sarah sternly and pointed to the couch with one finger, silently ordering her to sit down.

Sarah quickly sat down on the couch.

"Let's try this again. Why did you go to the hotel?" Gibbs asked again. He already knew the answer, but he wanted her to say it.

"I told you I was-"

"Don't lie to me again!" Gibbs yelled.

Sarah flinched away from his voice a little. No one had ever really yelled at her like that before. Her parents certainly hadn't. They'd been too busy trying to spoil her as a way to hurt Tim. She'd never been yelled at for screwing up. She had a feeling that was now going to change. "I… I was there to see my mother." She was now seriously regretting her decision to lie. Tim was right; it just made Gibbs even angrier.

"So in other words, you did something I specifically told you not to," Gibbs said.

"I had to. I had to see her one last time. I had to know if there was any part of her that actually cared about Tim and would help protect him," Sarah explained.

Gibbs softened slightly. He was still very angry about being disobeyed and lied to, but he did feel for the young woman in front of him. It couldn't be easy to realize that your mother had no heart.

"There isn't though. I told her what Dad did Tim and she actually accused him of lying," Sarah said. She couldn't get passed that. How could her mother actually accuse Tim of lying about something like this? He was her son. She was supposed to protect him.

Gibbs felt rage build inside him for Clare. Just when he thought he couldn't hate the woman any more. He couldn't say he was surprised. Nothing the woman said or did surprised him anymore.

Gibbs sat down in a chair and looked at Sarah. "Alright, I appreciate that you were trying to help your brother, but that doesn't make it alright to disobey me and put yourself in danger and it certainly doesn't make it alright to lie to me about it."

"What do you mean put myself in danger? I didn't," Sarah said. Tim had mentioned something to that effect as well, but she didn't see it that way.

"What if your father hadn't followed you? What if he'd been in the hotel room? What if he'd come after you? Do you honestly think your mother would've stopped him from hurting you?" Gibbs asked. "You know, I don't make up rules for the fun of it. I usually have good reasons."

Sarah looked down. She hadn't thought of that. Well, she had thought about the possibility of her father being there, but she hadn't thought about him possibly hurting her. That was still a hard concept for her to accept.

"You knew this was wrong. You wouldn't have lied to me otherwise," Gibbs said. In his experience, people only lied because they'd done something wrong. Sarah knew that she'd done wrong.

"I… I was afraid that you would get angry. I heard the way you were with Agent Matheson," Sarah said.

Gibbs signed and mentally kicked himself. He hadn't meant to scare her by giving Matheson what he deserved. "Sarah, I would never treat you the same way I treated him. "Matheson is an agent at NCIS. He's somebody that I occasionally have to work with. You and Tim are different. You're my family. And while I am angry right now, I would never speak to you the way I did him."

Sarah nodded. "That's what Tim said."

Gibbs smiled. He was glad to hear it. It was nice to know that his son was gaining more confidence in him. "Well, your brother's a smart guy most of the time. I'm also guessing he told you not to lie to me."

Sarah nodded.

"So you were warned not to lie to me but did it anyway. You know, if you'd told me the truth, you probably would've gotten off with just a lecture, but I don't tolerate being lied to," Gibbs said sternly.

Sarah suddenly found her hands very interesting.

"Eyes on me, Sarah," Gibbs ordered.

Sarah picked up her head and looked directly at him.

"For the next two weeks, you'll be sticking to me like glue. Wherever I go, you go," Gibbs told her. He wasn't going to punish her as severely as Tim because unlike with Tim who had thrown a tantrum because he didn't get his way, Sarah had done most of what she did in an effort to help Tim.

"Wait what exactly does that mean?"

"It means exactly what it sounds like. You go everywhere I go. The only exception is when I'm in the field. When I'm at work, you'll come to. You can stay with Abby or in an empty interrogation room. Are we clear?" Gibbs asked.

Sarah nodded. She didn't dare argue. In fact, it was weird, but it felt nice to actually have someone punish her. No one had ever done that before.

"And don't ever lie to me again," Gibbs warned.

"I won't, I swear," Sarah promised.


	41. Chapter 41

Tim stood outside in the driveway staring at his damaged car. He knew it shouldn't affect his so much. It was just a car after all. It did affect him though. It made him angry that his property was messed with, and scared of what was going to happen next. Brad was getting really out of control now. Not that it wasn't bad when he tried to strangle him, but the fact that he was willing to come after him at his father's house was a bold move.

Tim was pulled from his thoughts when he heard the front door open and his father come out.

"Tim, what the hell are you doing out here? It isn't safe," Gibbs said as he approached his son. He no longer trusted the two agents assigned to protect Sarah and Tim, so he sent them away.

"Yeah, like it's going to be any safer inside," Tim said sarcastically.

"Tim-"

"Don't you get it, he's not afraid of you! He came onto your property knowing that you were protecting me. He didn't care. He's lost his mind so badly that he doesn't care what happens to him as long as he can kill me first," Tim said emotionally. Coming out here and seeing he damage to his car had been it all more real. Brad had really come onto Gibbs' property to try to get to him. This wasn't going to end anytime soon. The man wasn't going to give up until he destroyed him.

"I won't let him," Gibbs said.

"He almost did. He tried to strangle me," Tim reminded. "And, yeah, I know that was my fault, but-"

"No," Gibbs interrupted. He wouldn't have Tim believing that the attempt on his life was his fault. "It was not your fault. Yes, you screwed up and put yourself in danger, but you did not invite that son of a bitch to try to kill you. This is not your fault. It is not happening because of anything you did."

"Then why is it happening?" Tim asked desperately.

"Because he's a pathetic excuse for a human being that gets his kicks by hurting people. It has nothing to do with you, not really. It's about him. He's spent years trying to make your life miserable. He gets off on it. When he realized he wouldn't be able to hurt you for much longer, he snapped," Gibbs explained. That was the only reason he could think of. It was like with wife beaters. Once their wives left them, they snapped and went after them even harder. McGee was going after Tim now more than ever because he knew he was going to lose control over him.

"I don't feel safe, Dad. I can't fight him. Something happens to me when I'm around him. I become this scared little kid again. I start shaking and I cower in fear. I can't fight him. I'm a federal agent and I can't fight him," he said miserably. He felt so pathetic. He was a trained NCIS agent who couldn't even stand up to his stepfather. Some agent he was.

Gibbs placed his hands on Tim's shoulders. "You listen to me. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You are a good agent."

"Yeah right," Tim said before looking away from his father.

Gibbs moved his hands to the sides of Tim's face, forcing him to look at him. "Yes, you are. Do you remember when Tony was on the run with that killer. Kate and I were out looking for him and that left you in charge to take care of the politics."

"Yeah, I remember, I completely choked," Tim said.

"No, you didn't. Yes, you may have been scared at first, but eventually you did what needed to be done," Gibbs said.

"That's because you told me what to say," Tim said. He remembered that day real clearly. It wasn't every day you told the Deputy Secretary of State to stick it.

"Maybe, but you're the one who did it. You swallowed your fear and did what you had to do. You always have. Anything I've asked you for you've come through on. You're a good agent. More than that though, you're a good man. Don't let that bastard let you doubt that," Gibbs said.

"Why can't I fight him then? I can fight terrorists and murderers, but not him."

"Because you don't know how. For so long, you weren't able to fight him. He had too much power over you. You were a kid and he was bigger and stronger than you. And he used that against you. He's nothing but a coward. You can't fight him because he taught you that you couldn't. He taught you to be afraid. And fear isn't something that goes away overnight," Gibbs explained.

"How do I get rid of that fear?" Tim asked.

"There's something I want you to consider. I think it might help you," Gibbs said.

"What?"

"Maybe you should talk to somebody," Gibbs said. He'd been thinking about it for a while now. Yes, Tim was starting to improve with just him and Sarah, but he still had many issues. Maybe he needed to talk to a professional to truly heal.

"You mean a shrink?" Tim asked. He didn't like that idea at all. The last thing he wanted to do was lie on a couch and share his problems with some stranger.

"Yeah. I think it might help you in a way that I can't. There is only so much I can do to help you. You may need someone with experience in this area to help you," he said.

"Do I have to.

"No. This isn't something I can force you to do. It has to be your choice," Gibbs said. This was one thing he couldn't force on Tim. It wouldn't do any good if it was forced. "Just promise me you'll think about it."

"Okay," Tim said. That much he could do. He wasn't sure he could actually go tell a shrink his problems, but he could think about it."

"Alright. Let's go inside," Gibbs said before putting his arm around his son and leading the way inside.


	42. Chapter 42

Tim walked into the bullpen of NCIS with a smile on his face. This was his first day with new name. He was now Special Agent Timothy Gibbs. It had taken a couple of weeks since he'd started the process of changing his name. It had also been that same about of time since Brad had tried anything. He was starting to hope that maybe the man had given up and was going to leave them alone.

Tony smiled when he saw Tim come in. "Well, hello, Agent Gibbson."

Tim rolled his eyes at the new nickname. He knew Tony would come up with something. "How long you been holding that one in, Tony?"

"About a week, Gibbs Jr.," Tony said.

"Tony, I suggest you get it all out of your system before Gibbs gets up here. Something tells me he won't appreciate your variations of his name," Ziva said.

"Oh, come on. We have to find some way of distinguishing one from the other. Otherwise how are people going to be able to tell which is which?" Tony asked.

"Simple, DiNozzo. I'm the one that's going to be kicking your ass if you don't get to work," Gibbs said as he walked past him to his desk.

"Getting to work, Boss," Tony said.

"Tim, remember you have an appointment downstairs in an hour," Gibbs said.

Tim's smile immediately faded away. He'd forgotten that he had an appointment to see one of the NCIS psychiatrists. He'd decided to try the therapy idea, but now that it was actually happening, he was really nervous. "Um, you know, I don't have to go. We have a lot of work to do. I can just reschedule."

"You're going, Tim," Gibbs told him without looking up. He'd told Tim that he wouldn't force Tim to go to therapy, but that was before he'd made the decision. Now that his son had made the choice, he wasn't going to let him stall. That would just make things harder for him.

Tim sighed. He should've known that wouldn't work. His father wasn't the type to let him stall like that. No, he was going to have to go and hope everything turned out alright.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

About an hour later, Tim was sitting across from a middle-aged blond woman. Doctor Julian was her name. "I… I'm not sure how to do this."

"Why don't you start with why you're here?" Doctor Julian suggested.

Tim laughed nervously. "It's a long story. I'm not even sure where to begin to tell it."

"Well, I find that the beginning is a good place," the doctor said smiling.

"The beginning was before I was even born, so I'm not sure that's the best place to start for me. I guess I'll start at the point that it started to get complicated for me. It was a few months ago when my mother came to visit."

"So this involves your mother?"

Tim nodded. "Oh yeah. Her and the web of lies she's been telling me since before I could talk."

"Go on," she urged.

"Well, she showed up here one day and met my boss. Actually 'met' is the wrong term since they already knew each other in high school. There were together about nine months before I was born," Tim said.

"I see," Doctor Julian said. "So you found out that your boss was actually your father. What was that like?"

"It was unbelievable. I never would have guessed that. Even after suspecting that they had some kind of relationship, I never guessed that. I mean, that just doesn't happen. In movies sure, but not in real life. But it happened to me," Tim said.

"You said you never suspected that this man was your father. How did you find out then?"

"My mother finally told me. But not until after my father threatened to do it himself if she didn't," Tim said bitterly.

"So your father knew?" the doctor questioned.

"He found out the same day I did. He went to my mother that same day and gave her an ultimatum. If she didn't tell me, he would," he answered.

"You said that things got complicated when you found out about your true parentage. That sounds like there's more to it."

"There kinda is. When I found out that Gibbs was my father, everything I knew started to shatter. Not just about who my father was, but also about how people saw me," Tim explained.

"And how did you think people saw you?" Doctor Julian asked.

"As weak, as a failure," Tim said looking down. This was starting to get hard.

"Why did you think that?" she asked.

"Because that's what my stepfather told me my whole life. He treated me like I was a mistake that he was stuck with," Tim said. He was trying really hard to keep himself from falling apart, but he could already feel it happening.

"And you believed that," Doctor Julian guessed. "You do realize that's normal, right? When you grow up believing something, eventually you begin to believe it."

"That's what my father told me," Tim said.

"He's right. You see, you grew up in environment of emotional abuse. You were called Weak and pathetic. No one ever told you anything different. As a child, you'd believe what you were told by your parents. Their abuse followed you into adulthood. Until you found someone who finally told that the way you were treated was wrong," the doctor explained.

Tim sighed. "You know, I know I'm messed up. I know it's wrong to think this way. People tell me all the time that I didn't deserve to be treated the way I was. And a part of me believes it, but the other part is still stuck."

Doctor Julian nodded. "That part of you thinks that maybe your family and friends are just telling you that because they feel obligated to, right?"

Tim nodded. That was exactly how he felt sometimes. It didn't happen as often as it used to, but it was still there sometimes.

"I think it's a good idea that you came here. I can help you begin to heal from this. I won't say it'll be easy, but I truly believe that therapy will be beneficial to you. Are you willing to come back?"

Tim took a deep breath. He didn't relish the idea of talking to a stranger about his problems, but he really wanted Brad to stop having such an impact on his life. "Okay."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

About twenty minutes later, Tim was walking out of the therapist's office when he heard her receptionist calling.

"Agent Gibbs?"

For a second Tim expected to see his father somewhere until he realized that it was him she was talking too. Tony was right; this was going to be confusing. He quickly went to the front desk. "Yeah?"

"I have a message for you from an Agent DiNozzo," she said before handing him a slip of paper.

Tim took the offered piece of paper and began reading. It was a message to meet the rest of the team at a state park downtown. Apparently there was a case.

Tim was a little surprised that he was being told to meet them since he still wasn't supposed to leave the building without his father, but he chalked it up to his dad putting personal things aside for the job, so he headed towards the exit to go meet them.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim got out of the car and headed towards the park entrance. When he got there he was confused because there was no one in sight. "Tony? Ziva?" There was no sign of us. Tim was beginning to realize something wasn't right when he felt a blow to the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.


	43. Chapter 43

Gibbs walked into the bullpen after getting his third cup of coffee of the day. He saw that Tony and Ziva were at their desks working, but when he looked at Tim's desk, he saw that it was still empty. He looked at his watch and frowned. Tim's therapy appointment should've ended a half hour ago. "Have either of you seen Tim?"

"No, he hasn't come back yet, Boss," Tony said.

Gibbs felt his gut churn. Tim should've been back by now. There was no reason he shouldn't be here. Tim knew he wasn't to go anywhere without him right now and Gibbs doubted his son would defy him so soon after the last time. Something wasn't right.

Gibbs went over to his desk and picked up his phone. He dialed Tim's cell phone number. The phone rang a few times, but then went to voicemail. He disconnected and then tried again. "Come on, Tim." There was still no answer.

"Is everything alright, Boss?" Tony asked. He could see the apprehension on his Boss' face.

Gibbs ignored Tony and continued to call Tim over and over, getting more worried every time he didn't pick up. Finally after about five minutes, he turned to Tony. "Tony, call the psych department. Ask them if Tim is still down there."

Tony immediately picked up his phone and started dialing. "Yes, this is Special Agent DiNozzo. I'm trying to find Special Agent Timothy Gibbs. Is he… What? I did no such thing." The receptionist was telling him that he'd apparently left a message for Tim to meet them somewhere, which was weird because he made no such call.

Gibbs immediately dropped his phone and went over to Tony's desk. Ziva came over as well.

"No, I didn't send him anywhere. Where did you tell him I was sending him?" Tony asked. "Well, think damn it! Where the hell is my partner?" This was getting scary. Someone had impersonated him and was sending Tim God knows where.

"What's going on Tony?" Gibbs asked. If he thought he was worried before, he was terrified now. The conversation he was hearing did not bode well for his son.

Tony ignored his boss as he listened to the woman on the other end of the line. "Okay, how long ago was that?" Once he got the answer he hung up, much like Gibbs usually does. He then turned to his boss. "Someone called down there about an hour ago using my name. He left a message for Tim to meet us at Greenfield Park.

"Damn it! Let's go!" Gibbs ordered before sprinting towards the elevator. Tony and Ziva rushed to catch up with him.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony held onto his seat for dear life. Gibbs was driving like a crazy person. Not that Tony blamed him. The man was worried, and for good reason. Tim was walking into a trap probably set by his crazy, no good stepfather. He was worried too.

Ziva looked out the window as they approached the park. She saw a car that resembled the rental Tim had been driving lately. "Gibbs, his rental-"

"I see it," Gibbs interrupted before pulling into the lot and parking right next to Tim's car. He immediately got out of the car and went over to the car. He opened the door and looked inside. Everything seemed to be in perfect order. If Tim was attacked, it wasn't in the car. "Come on," he said before leading the way into the park.

Ziva followed close behind her boss and her partner as they searched the park for Tim. Soon she noticed something on the grass. She went over and picked it up. It was a cellphone. "Gibbs."

Gibbs and Tony both turned to her. "What is it, Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

Ziva held up the phone and read what was on the screen out loud. "'Ten missed calls from Dad.'"

Gibbs took the phone from Ziva and stared at it. This was the confirmation of his worst fear. His son was gone. The crazy son of a bitch had his son. And God only knew what he was doing to him.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs stalked out of the elevator and over to Vance who was waiting for the team when they got there. "Where is Leon? Where's McGee? Why haven't you found him yet?"

"Gibbs, I know you're upset, but you need to calm down," Vance said.

"Oh, you want me to calm down? You want me to calm down! I will not calm down! The son of a bitch lured my son into a trap!" Gibbs yelled. He was mildly aware of the fact that he was making a very big scene in the middle of the bullpen, but he didn't care. He was furious and terrified at the same time. He needed answers. He needed someone to tell him where his son was.

"Gibbs, we're going to find him," Vance said calmly.

All Vance's attempt to appease him did was piss Gibbs off even more. "You've been saying that for months! You said after the bastard trashed Tim's apartment, after he started sending him threatening letters, even after he tried to strangle the life out of him. But you still haven't found have you? He's still out there. And now, my son is gone. The sick bastard kidnapped him. What are you going to do about it, Leon?"

Vance stayed quiet. There was no point in trying to defend himself. Gibbs wasn't really mad at him. He was angry and scared that his son was missing and he needed someone to take it out on. He would probably feel the same way if it were one of his kids. The best thing he could do right now was let Gibbs say what he wanted.

Gibbs took several deep breaths. He felt like he was going to explode. He couldn't do this again. He couldn't deal with the loss of another child. It would kill him. He might not have known Tim was his son for long, but he loved him. He could not lose him.

Gibbs turned away and started back towards the elevator. Tony made a move to follow him, but Vance grabbed him by the arm, stopping him in his tracks. "Don't do it, DiNozzo. Trust me, it won't do any good."

"He's going out of his mind, Director. Someone has to do something," Tony said. He'd never seen his boss like that. Even in a crisis, Gibbs always seemed to be in control. Now he was as far away from controlled as a person could possibly get.

"You can't help him, DiNozzo. He's not going to be any better until Tim walks through those doors again," Vance said.

"Where do you think he is going?" Ziva asked.

"I'm not sure, but I do know that Brad McGee is a dead man," Vance said. McGee was on borrowed time because Gibbs would find him, and when he did, he would kill him. There was no doubt about it. Any possibility of Brad McGee being brought in alive when out the window when he kidnapped Gibbs' son.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim groaned as he started to come to. He had massive headache. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to it. His neck was also aching, and a second later, he realized why. He'd been sleeping in a chair. He went to move around, but found he couldn't. His hands were bound tightly behind him and his feet to the legs of the chair. He went to speak, but found that there was something tied around his mouth to keep him from doing so.

Tim started to panic. Where the hell was he? How had he gotten there? The answer came to him a minute later. He remembered getting the message from Tony to meet everyone in the park. He also remembered getting there and finding it empty. He mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. He should've known better than to trust a written message. He should've called Tony before leaving NCIS. It had been stupid not to do so.

He looked to the sides to survey the room. He didn't see much. It was really dark. The only light came from a small window above him. It looked like he was in some kind of basement somewhere. He didn't know exactly where he was, but he definitely knew who was responsible. It was Brad. It had to be. No one else had a problem with him.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Brad came into the room with an evil smirk on his face. "Well, look who's up. Did you have a nice nap?"

Tim immediately tensed even more than he already had, an effect Brad always had on him.

Brad grabbed a chair and placed it in front of Tim before sitting down backwards in it. "So how ya been? I've been awesome. I'm on the run, I have to sneak around to see my wife, and my daughter won't talk to me. It's been fun."

Tim breathed heavily in fear. This was not going to end well for him.

"Aren't you even going to say something, you useless coward? Oh, I forgot you can't. it's a little hard to talk though that thing, huh?" Brad said laughing menacingly. He got up and removed the gag.

Tim coughed a little when his mouth was freed. "W… what do you want?"

Brad punched Tim in the face. "What do I want? Well, at first I just wanted to kill you. And believe me, I plan to do just that, but first you're going to suffer. You turned my daughter against me. You're going to pay for that."

"No, I didn't do-" Tim was cut off by another blow to the face. For a second he felt as though the room was moving. The punch had knocked the wind out of him a little.

"Don't talk back to me, you little bastard. You're going to pay. You're going to die," Brad said before leaning over Tim so that his face was about an inch away from Tim's. "But first, you're going to suffer. I'm going to hurt you so badly that you will beg me to kill you. And if I'm in a generous mood, maybe I'll do it quickly." He then stood up and hit Tim once more, this time using enough force to knock him out again.


	44. Chapter 44

Tony sat at his desk and tapped it with his hand nervously. He kept staring at the clock. It had been three hours since they discovered that Tim was missing. Two since Gibbs had stormed out of the office. He wanted to do something, anything to help find Tim, but there was nothing he could do right now. They didn't have the first clue where McGee had taken Tim. Vance was currently at MTAC trying to find out if the Navy had any idea where McGee might go. Other than that, there wasn't much they could do right now.

"Tony, would you quit the tapping. It is very annoying," Ziva said. She was worried and frustrated as well, but the tapping was just adding to that.

Tony did as she asked and then glanced over at Tim's desk. That desk shouldn't be empty. It was the middle of the day. Tim should be at it. He should be working. He should be at his computer trying to find some suspect or something. But he wasn't. He was gone. He was out there somewhere. God only knew where and what was happening to him. Was he hurt? Was he even alive?

Ziva noticed her partner's face as he stared at Tim's desk. "We are going to find him, Tony. Gibbs will not stop until he brings his son home."

Tony nodded. He had no doubt that they'd find Tim. He just wondered what condition he would be in when they did. "The question is will he be okay when we do? Or will he be…? Will he be…?" He couldn't bring himself to finish that thought.

"Do not even think that, Tony. Tm is not dead. He is not going to die. You must believe that," Ziva said. She refused to believe that Tim was dead. She would not accept that. Tim was alive. He just had to be.

Tony sighed loudly and stood up from his chair abruptly. "We can't just sit here and do nothing. There's gotta be something we can do. Somewhere we can look."

"Like where? We have no idea where he is? He left no clues at the park," Ziva said.

"I don't know, but we have to do something. We can't just sit here," Tony said. He wasn't good at this. He needed to do something. He needed to find some way to help his partner.

"Well, then tell me what to do! Gibbs is not here right now. That puts you in charge until he gets back. Figure out something to do and we'll do it," Ziva said irritably. She wanted to help as well, but there was nothing to be done right now. Tony needed to either realize that or figure something out.

Tony tried to rack his brain to find something that they could do, but he was coming up empty. He collapsed in his chair despairingly.

"Tony, I know that you are worried. I am too, but right now we are we are doing all we can," Ziva said softly.

"I hate this Ziva. Tim's missing, Gibbs' in the middle of a meltdown, and I can't do anything to help either of them," Tony said.

"I know how you feel. Look, the director is speaking with the Navy right now. Maybe he will get something that-"

"Vance has already spoken to McGee's CO. He didn't know anything. I highly doubt he knows anything now. They're not going to be able to help us," Tony said miserably. Then an idea popped into his head and he snatched up his phone and started dialing. The Navy couldn't help them with McGee, neither could Vance because he had certain parameters he had to work under, but he knew someone who could. Someone who wouldn't care about parameters or laws. Someone who always seemed to get what or who he was looking for.

"Who are you calling?" Ziva asked. She'd seen the look in Tony's eyes. He had some sort of plan or idea.

"Someone who will help Gibbs no matter what the cost."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs stormed through the Whitman hotel and pounded on Clare's door. He'd spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out what he was going to do. He had to figure out how to find his son and fast. After driving around town, he'd finally decided to go to the hotel. He was sure McGee had gone there at some point, and even if he didn't, Clare had to have some idea where the bastard would go and he would make her tell him.

As soon as Clare started to open the door, Gibbs rushed inside. "What the hell? Jethro, what are you doing?"

Gibbs ignored her and began looking around. He needed to first ascertain that McGee wasn't there right now. He first checked the main room and then moved into the bedroom.

"You have no right to come in here like this, Jethro," Clare said as she followed him.

Gibbs ignored her as he continued into the bedroom. He wasn't surprised to find it empty. He didn't really expect McGee to be there. That would be too easy. It didn't change his mindset though. He would find his son and the evil bastard that had taken him. And when he did, Tim had better be in mint condition.

"What are you looking for?" Clare asked.

"I'm looking for the son of a bitch that took my son," Gibbs finally said.

"What are you talking about? Where's Tim?" Clare asked. This was the first she was hearing about her son possibly being missing.

"You tell me," Gibbs said. He wasn't completely convinced that Clare wasn't in on this. As sad and pathetic as it was, he knew Clare might be involved in her own son's kidnapping.

"I don't know where he is. You refused to even let me talk to him, remember? I haven't seen him since that day at your offices," Clare said.

"And I'm supposed to believe you? You lie as easy as breathing. For all I know you were in on it," he said.

"In on what? I don't know what the hell you're talking about," Clare said.

"Your worthless husband kidnapped our son!" Gibbs yelled.

"What? No, that's not true. Brad would never do anything like that," Clare insisted.

"You mean like he'd never trash his apartment or send him threatening messages or try to strangle him?" Gibbs asked.

"No, he didn't do any of those things either. He's not like that."

Gibbs felt even more rage build up inside him. It took every ounce of self-restraint he had not to throttle the woman with his bare hands. The more this woman talked, the more he hated her. Even now when their son was God knows where, she was defending the creep who took him. "Tell me where the hell he is!"

"I don't know where Tim is," she insisted.

"WHERE'S MCGGE!" Gibbs roared.

Clare flinched at the tone of his voice. She'd never heard anyone so angry before. "I...I don't know. But I'm telling you, he didn't do what you're accusing him of.

Gibbs growled before taking out a pair of handcuffs and spinning Clare around.

"What are you doing?" Clare asked. It was pretty clear what he was doing, but she had to be wrong. He couldn't be doing what he thought she was.

"You're under arrest," Gibbs said as he cuffed her hands behind her back.

"For what?" Clare asked in astonishment.

"Aiding and abetting a wanted fugitive and accessory to the kidnapping of a federal agent," he said as he grabbed her roughly by the arm and started walking.

"I told you, I don't know where Brad is, and you can't prove I do," Clare said.

"I don't care," he said as he dragged her out of the hotel room. He didn't care if there was no proof. He was bringing her in and keeping her at NCIS until he found Tim. Even if she didn't know where McGee was, bringing her in might draw the bastard out. He would do whatever he had to to get his son back, even if it meant fabricating evidence to hold Clare at NCIS. Nothing mattered but bringing his son back safely.


	45. Chapter 45

"Are you sure it was a good idea to call him, Tony. He doesn't exactly follow the rules," Ziva said from her desk.

"Exactly. We need someone who isn't gonna care about the rules. Someone who will do whatever it takes to get the job done. You can bet Gibbs won't care about the rules. Unfortunately, he can't be objective. We need someone with a certain level of objectivity and a willingness to break whatever rules it takes," Tony explained

Ziva was about to say something when she saw Abby walk out of the elevator. "Oh, no."

Tony noticed her as well. They both immediately got up and went to greet her. "Hey, Abbs," Tony said.

"Hey, guys. Where's Tim? I wanted to congratulate him on his name change.

"Abby, I think you should sit down," Tony said gently.

Abby's eyes grew in fear. Something was wrong. She could see that on the look on her friends' faces. She looked around and saw that both Tim and Gibbs were missing. It had to be about one of them. "What happened? Who's hurt? Is it bad?"

"Abby, you need to calm down," Ziva said.

"Don't tell me to calm down, Ziva. Someone is hurt, I know it. Tell me what's going on!" Abby demanded.

"We don't know that anyone's hurt," Tony tried to appease. Even he didn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. It was true, they didn't know for sure that Tim was being hurt, but knowing what McGee was capable of, it was a pretty safe bet. "But Tim is missing."

"What do you mean he's missing? How can he be missing? He told me he's not allowed to leave the building without Gibbs," Abby said.

"He was downstairs with psych. Someone left him a message to go to a non-existent crime scene using my name," Tony said with a hint of anger in his voice. It was bad enough that the bastard dared to come after his partner, but that he actually used his name to do it… that royally pissed him off.

"Well, why are you just sitting here? Get out there and find him!" Abby ordered.

"Abby we are doing everything we can," Ziva said.

"You're doing nothing. You were just sitting there when I got here. Go out there and start looking!"

"Where would you like us to look, Abbs? We don't even know where to start," Tony said calmly. He understood why she was so upset. That had been him a little while ago.

"There's gotta be something," she said. There just had to be. She couldn't accept that Tim was just gone. She couldn't stand the thought of her best friend being hurt.

"We've done everything we can right now. We've had a BOLO out on McGee for weeks, but we've come up with nothing. Right now, we are doing everything in our power to find Tim and bring him home," Tony assured her.

"Well, where's Gibbs? He'll know what to do," Abby said. Gibbs always knew what to do. That was what made him Gibbs.

"Not this time, Abby. This time it is different. Gibbs is spiriting out of control right now," Ziva said.

"Spiraling. He's spiraling out of control," Tony corrected. He had to agree. Gibbs lashing out at Vance was proof that he was losing it. Their boss was not going to be able to handle losing Tim. That was another reason he made the phone call he did. The person he called would be able to help Gibbs get his head back on straight.

"What do you mean? Gibbs never loses control. He's Gibbs. He's always in control when something bad happens. Even when it's one of us. He kept calm when we thought you were dead, Tony, and when Ziva was being held hostage, even when Kate died," Abby said.

"This is different, Abbs. This is Tim. This is his son. He's freaking out, and rightfully so. Gibbs has already felt the loss of one child. Now he's faced with possibly feeling that pain again," Tony said.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He lashed out at the director. Tried to blame him for not finding McGee."

"It's not the director's fault, is it?" Abby asked. If it was, boss or not, she would kick his ass.

"No, of course not. Gibbs was just angry. He couldn't go after McGee, so he went for the next obvious target. When that didn't fix everything, he stormed out," Tony said.

"Where'd he go?" Abby asked.

Ziva was the one to answer. "I don't know where he went, but here he is now."

They both turned and saw Gibbs walk off the elevator and drag a woman towards interrogation in handcuffs. "Who's that?" Abby asked.

"Not a clue, but she must be someone Gibbs thinks can help him find Tim," Tony said. He knew for a fact that Gibbs wouldn't be wasting his time bringing anyone in unless he thought it would lead to Tim's location.

Ziva nodded in agreement. "For her sake, she'd better tell him what she knows.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs sat across from Clare and stared at her icily. It was taking every ounce of strength in him to just try to kill her with his eyes instead of reaching over and strangling her for being the most unfeeling, uncaring mother he'd ever met.

"Would you stop staring at me? You can't keep me here, you know? I haven't done anything wrong!" Clare yelled.

"Watch me. I can keep you here for forty-eight hours without charging you. And once that's up, I'll find a reason to hold you," Gibbs said. It wasn't an empty threat. He'd follow through. She wasn't going anywhere until Tim was home safely. Nothing and no one was going to stop him from doing what he had to to make that happened.

"What do you want from me?" Clare asked loudly.

"I want my son!" Gibbs yelled back.

"I don't know where Tim is. But I'm telling you, Brad had nothing to do with it. Tim probably just went out to get some air or something. I'm sure he'll be back soon," Clare said.

Gibbs shook his head in disbelief. "You don't know the first thing about Tim. He wouldn't just leave like that. He would never just leave work without telling anyone, and he certainly wouldn't leave his phone and car in a state park."

"Well, then maybe someone did take him, but it wasn't Brad. Maybe someone he put away. You're wasting all this time on me and Brad when you should be trying to find the person responsible," Clare explained.

"I know who's responsible."

Clare sighed loudly. "I want a lawyer."

"No," Gibbs said simply.

Clare did a double take. "What? You can't deny me a lawyer."

"I just did," he said.

"I know my rights. I have the right to a lawyer."

"I don't care," Gibbs said. He knew it was against the law to deny Clare a lawyer, but he just didn't care. Her rights didn't matter to him. When he said he'd do anything to get Tim back, he meant anything.

Soon the door opened revealing Vance. "Agent Gibbs, I'd like a word."

Gibbs gave Clare one last icy glare before following Vance into the hallway.

"What the hell are you doing, Gibbs? What is she doing here? And please tell me something's wrong with me ears because I could've sworn I heard you just deny her a lawyer," Vance said. He'd walked into the observation room just in time to hear that.

"Your ears are fine, Leon," Gibbs said.

"Gibbs you can't just arrest someone for no reason and then violate her civil rights," Vance said.

"You think I give a damn about her civil rights. My son is missing!" Gibbs yelled. That was the only thing that mattered to him. He didn't give a damn about Clare's civil rights. If he could, he'd lock her up and throw away the key.

"I understand that, but you still have to follow the rules."

"I'm curious, Leon. If it were your son, would you be following the rules?" Gibbs asked.

Vance opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. He wished he could say yes, but he couldn't. If his son was missing, he would do whatever was necessary to get him back.

"I didn't think so. You do what you have to do, Director, but let me just make one thing clear. I am going to get my son back no matter what the cost. And I will take down everything that gets in my way, including you," Gibbs said before walking away.


	46. Chapter 46

The next morning, Gibbs walked into his house. He didn't really want to be there. He wanted to be out there looking for his son. But he had to talk to Sarah. He couldn't justify putting it off any longer. She had to know what was happening with her brother.

Gibbs walked into the kitchen, where he found Sarah with a cup of coffee.

"Hey. Did you guys work all night?" Sarah asked. Gibbs and Tim hadn't come home the night before. With most people that would surprise her, but she'd seen it happen before with them. They sometimes pulled all-nighters.

"Not exactly," Gibbs said quietly.

"Where's Tim?" Sarah wondered. She didn't see him anywhere. Had he gone straight up to bed.

"He's not here, Sarah," Gibbs said somberly.

"Where is he?" Sarah asked nervously. She didn't like the look on Gibbs' face. She'd never seen him like that before. Something wad very wrong.

"I don't know," Gibbs said quietly.

"What do you mean you don't know? He left with you. Where the hell is he?" Sarah asked, nearly yelling.

"He went down for a psych appointment. When he was done, he got a false message to meet us at a state park. It was a trick. Your father-"

"No! No, oh Go, no!" Sarah cried before nearly falling to the floor.

Gibbs caught her and slowly lowered her and himself to the ground. He then held her tightly. "It's going to be okay. It's not over. I'm going to get him back."

"If my dad has him, he could be doing anything to him right now," Sarah cried. She was absolutely terrified. She knew what her father was capable of when it came to Tim. He would do anything he could just to cause Tim pain. He was in real trouble.

"I'm not going to let him hurt him. I'm gonna get him back, I promise," Gibbs said. This was one promise he would make sure got kept. He was getting his son back. He didn't care who or what he had to tear down to do it.

Soon they were heard the door open. Gibbs pulled himself and Sarah up. "Stay here." He was pretty sure that McGee wasn't going to come after Sarah now, but he wasn't taking any risks. He grabbed his gun and started towards the front door. As soon as he saw who it was, he lowered the gun.

"Now is that the way to greet someone came all the way from Mexico to save your sorry ass?"

"What are you doing here, Mike?" Gibbs asked as he holstered his weapon.

"I told you, I came to save your ass," Mike said.

"It's not my ass that needs saving," Gibbs muttered.

"The little birdy I talked to tends to disagree. Seems to think you're about ready to explode," Mike said.

Gibbs sighed. "DiNozzo." Tony was the only one he could think of that would actually contact his old boss. Ziva wouldn't and Vance wouldn't want the man anywhere near this. That only left Tony. "How much did he tell you?"

"Enough to know that you've had your turn at the whole long lost kid thing and the long lost kid is in trouble thing," Mike said.

"So just about everything. Why exactly are you here?" Gibbs asked. He didn't like how the man phrased his reason for being there. If Mike thought he was going to stop him from doing what he had to, he had had another thing coming.

"I'm here to make sure you don't go so far that you take yourself to a place you can't get back from," Mike said. He really had no problem with Jethro tracking his boy down and killing the SOB that hurt him, but he wanted to make sure he didn't screw himself in the process.

"If that means you came to stop me from doing what I have to do, you've got another thing coming," he said.

"I'm not going to try to stop you from getting your boy back. That's too dangerous a mission even for me. No, I'm here to make sure you don't destroy your own life in the process," Mike said.

"My life doesn't matter as long as Tim comes home safely," Gibbs said. He didn't care what happened to him at this point. All that mattered was getting his son away from psychotic stepfather.

Mike whacked him upside the head.

Gibbs was a bit stunned at first. Mike hadn't hit him like that since he worked for him. After the shock wore off, he glared at the man.

"Don't give me that look, Probie. You had it coming. That that hell is wrong with you. You want your boy back. I get that, but what good will it do him if he aint got you when he gets back?" Mike asked. "You're out for blood."

"You're damn right I am! Who even knows what he's doing to my son right now. And don't take this high and mighty road with me, Mike. How many rules have broken to get what you wanted?" Gibbs asked.

"More than I can count. The difference is I had a clear enough mind to cover my tracks. You're going around town on a rampage. Arresting people for no reason, withholding lawyers." He'd gone by NCIS and heard it all from DiNozzo. "Now don't get me wrong. From what I hear the women deserves whatever she gets, but the point is that your acting reckless, and it aint helping your boy one bit."

"You have a better idea?" Gibbs asked. If Mike had other ideas to get Tim back, he was all for it, but if not, he needed to back off.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. All I need is five minutes alone with that woman that calls herself your boy's mother and I'll get what you need," Mike said.

Gibbs laughed. "So it's okay for you break the rules?"

"I'm not an agent. I washed my hands of those idiots. What are they gonna do to me if I question her without a lawyer?"

"Then what?" Gibbs asked.

"Then we track the SOB down, we find your boy, and then we handle the rest without paperwork," Mike said smirking.

"That was the plan all along," he said. He had no intention of letter McGee live. He was just sorry he didn't kill him when he had the chance.

"Yeah, but I'll be there to make sure no one can pin it on you," Mike said.

"You don't think I can do it without getting caught?" Gibbs asked He could do it. McGee wouldn't be the first guy he took out for hurting one of his kids.

"Not at the rate you're going," Mike responded. Normally he'd say that Jethro could handle it all, but right now the man was spiraling out of control. He'd only seen him this close to the edge once before. That time he'd had the forethought to be careful. He didn't see that happening this time. "Now you ready to go find your boy?"

Gibbs nodded. He was way past ready, and he supposed Mike was right. He wasn't exactly thinking clearly right now. "Yeah, just give me a minute." He then headed back to the kitchen to talk to Sarah for a minute.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim sat in the chair he was bound too. He'd tried to free himself, but the ropes were too tight. He knew it was hopeless even if he did manage to free himself. Brad was still on the other side of that door, and there was no way he could get past him.

Speaking of, Brad walking through the door a second later. Tim nearly started to hyperventilate when he saw what was in the man's hands. He was carrying a leather strap and he was smirking evilly. Tim didn't even want to think about what he was going to do to him.

Brad went over and released Tim's feet from the chair. Then he pushed him to the floor before dragging him across the room by the hair. He pushed him onto his back and lifted his tied hands up so that they were out of his way. "This is something I've always wanted to do to you."

Tim looked at him with fear in his eyes. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going to happen next. "No. No, please, don't!"

Brad laughed at him and raised the strap. "Feel free to scream." With that, he brought the strap down onto Tim's back hard.

And Tim screamed.


	47. Chapter 47

Mike walked into the interrogation room that Clare Jacobs was stashed in. He looked at her for a minute before going over to the video camera and pulling it out.

Clare looked at the man nervously. She didn't know who this man was, but he made her nervous. He'd just torn out the video camera. That couldn't be a good sign. "What are you doing?

Mike ignored her. He walked over to the table and felt underneath it to pull out the listening device. He placed that and the camera on the table before sitting down and staring at the woman in front of him. "Now we're alone. And you're going to tell me everything I want to know.."

Clare shifted uncomfortably. This man was making her even more nervous than Jethro. "I...I'm not saying anything without a lawyer present."

Mike stood up and loomed over her menacingly. "You're going to tell me what I want to know one way or another."

Clare leaned back as far as she could. She couldn't help but be intimidating. He certainly looked scary and seemed to be willing to go to extreme measures to achieve his ends. Still, he wouldn't hurt her, right? He had to follow the rules. "You can't make me say anything. I have rights."

Mike laughed. "Lady, do you think I give a rat's ass about your rights? I quit this job so I wouldn't be held back by that civil rights crap." That was one of the reasons. There were other bigger reasons, but that was one of them.

"Y...your not an agent?" Clare asked surprised. If he wasn't an agent, why was he there questioning her.

"Nope. I left the job long ago. I'm here to help my friend find his kid. That's all I care about. And I will do everything in my power to do so. I don't care about the rules. I haven't followed them in years. I do things my way. So either tell me what I want to know or find out first hand what that means," Mike threatened.

"I don't know what you want from me. I don't know where Tim is," Clare said.

"You know where that piece of slime you married. I find him, I find your boy," Mike said.

"Brad does not have Tim! What is it going to take to get that through to you people?" Clare asked angrily.

Mike shook his head in disgust. "You know, I've seen some pretty despicable people in my day, but you take the cake, Lady. I have never seen anyone be so callous when it comes to the welfare of her own son."

"I love my son."

"If this is how love looks to you, I'd hate to see you with someone you don't like. You are by far the coldest woman I've ever met, and that's saying something. Do you even care that your son is out there right now probably being tortured?"

"If he is, it's not by Brad," Clare said.

"What is it with woman like you? What is it that makes you able to justify everything that the bastards in your life do? What makes a child abuser so appealing. They say love is blind, but this is ridiculous. You, Lady, are by far the most pathetic specimen I've ever met," Mike said angrily before walking behind her and whispering in her ear lethally. "And you're going to tell me what I want to know or else."

"Or else what?" Clare asked bravely. He couldn't really hurt her, could he? Even if he wasn't an agent, that wouldn't be allowed.

Mike slammed his hands onto the table from behind Clare, causing the woman to jump in fear. "Or else I'll show you exactly what I do to men who do what you have done to your son."

xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs paced the area outside the interrogation room while Mike was inside talking to Clare. It felt like they'd been in there for hours even though it had only been about ten minutes. He just needed this to end. The longer it took to get the information, the more physical and emotional damage McGee could do to his son.. God only knew how bad it was right now.

"Jethro."

Gibbs turned and saw Ducky coming towards him. "Hey, Duck."

"How are you holding up?" Ducky asked. He'd heard from Anthony that Timothy had been kidnapped and that Jethro was not taking it well. Not that he expected him to, but from what he'd heard, the man was quickly loosing control of his emotions, which was unlike him.

"I've been better," Gibbs said.

"Is there any news on Timothy?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, not yet. We're running out of time, Ducky. He's been missing for over twenty-four hours. McGee's only going to keep him alive for so long."

Ducky looked at his friend hesitantly. He hated to even think it, but he he had to wonder if the unthinkable had already happened. What if Timothy was already dead? It was unfortunately a possibility. Bradley McGee had already tried to kill Timothy once before, what was really stopping him from doing it again?

"What?" Gibbs asked. He could tell that there was something Ducky wanted to say to him.

"Jethro, don't take this the wrong way, but this Bradley fellow is obviously not all there. What if he has already...? Can you be sure he hasn't-"

"He's not dead," Gibbs said firmly. He could tell that that was what Ducky was getting at. He was just trying not to say it.

"Is that your gut talking or wishful thinking?" Ducky asked.

"Neither. It's logic and experience speaking. If McGee had killed Tim, he'd have made sure I knew it. He wouldn't try to cover up the fact. He'd want me to know that he'd killed my son. Tim is not dead," Gibbs said confidently. He was positive that his son was still alive. He just hoped he stayed that way..

Just then, Mike came bursting out of the room. "I got the info. Let's go get your boy."


	48. Chapter 48

Tim was on the ground laying on his stomach. His back felt like was on fire. It was amazing how much damage a strap could cause. He'd never felt this much pain in his life. Brad must have brought that thing down on him a good twenty or thirty times before finally getting bored and left. That had to be at least a couple hours ago.

Tim wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. He knew it was only going to get worse. His stepfather had just proved how sadistic he could be. He wasn't going to stop there. He was going to torture him until he begged for death.

And eventually he would kill him. Tim wasn't stupid enough to think he was going to get out of this alive. No one knew where he was. It could be days before his father tracked him down, and by that time, he was sure this game Brad was playing would be over. There was very little chance that he would come out of this alive.

The only solace Tim took out of this was that Brad would die too. Because eventually his father would find this place, and when he did, there was no way he'd let Brad live.

Soon the door opened again. Tim braced himself for more pain as Brad walked into the room. He looked at the man and saw that he had a gun. It seemed this was it. This was where he was he was going to die.

"Sit up!" Brad ordered.

Tim didn't move. He couldn't. His back was killing him and his hands were tied behind his back. So if Brad was going to shoot him, he'd had to do it with him laying on the ground the way he was.

Brad delivered a swift kick to his side. "I said, sit up!"

Tim yelled out in pain before attempting to move. He stumbled around a little before managing to get his knees. It was the best he could do under the circumstances.

"I suppose that's good enough. It's a good place for you. On your knees. It's where you belong," Brad said, smirking evilly. "Why don't you beg? Beg me to spare your pathetic life."

Tim looked at him for a minute before replying, "N...no." He was scared out of his mind, but there was no way he was going to do that. He was going to hang on to at least a little bit of dignity.

Brad raised an eyebrow. "No?"

"No. You're going to kill me no matter what. I...I'm not g...going to give you the sa...satisfaction of watching me beg," Tim said. He knew he was going to die, but he wasn't going to do while begging. There was no point to it anyway.

Brad laughed. "Yes, you will. You will beg. But not for me to spare you. You'll beg me to kill you. You see, I'm going to do it slowly and painfully." With that said, he raised the gun and shot Tim in the leg.

Tim screamed out in pain and fell back to the ground. He'd just discovered that being shot hurt like hell. He'd never been shot before. Seven years on the job, and he'd never been shot until now.

"That was just round one. I'll come for your other leg in about an hour or so. Then I'll work my way up. By the time I'm finished, you'll be begging for me to kill you."

Tim breathed heavily as he tried to get through the pain. "You're going to die for this."

Brad laughed at his expense. "Is that a fact. Because it seems like the only one dying is you."

"T...today maybe, but your day will come soon. M...maybe n...not today a...and maybe not to...tomorrow, but y...your d...day will c...come soon enough. My f...father will make s...sure of that. H...he'll t...track you down and k...kill you. I'm just s...sorry I won't b...be here to w...watch," Tim said.

"You think so, huh? You really think he gives a damn about you? He's probably glad to be rid of you," Brad said.

Tim shook his head. "T...that doesn't work a...anymore. My f...father loves me," Tim said. It had taken him a very long time, but he was almost one hundred percent sure now that his father would always love him.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs shifted in the car anxiously. It was taking way too long to get to wherever it was they were going. "Can't you go any faster?" he asked Mike.

"I'm going as fast as I can without possibly killing us. Aint gonna do your boy any good to wind up dead before we can save him," Mike said.

"Well, how much further?" Gibbs asked. They'd been driving for almost an hour now. Way too long for his liking.

"Not too long, we're almost there," Mike said.

About twenty minutes later, they pulled into the driveway of a big white house. Gibbs was out of the car before it even came to a complete stop. He immediately had his gun out and started running for the door. Mike followed suit. They stopped when they got to the door. "Ready?" Mike asked.

"Long passed," Gibbs said before kicking the door open.

They both ran through the house immediately. Gibbs found McGee in the living room. He grabbed him and slammed him into a table. He punched him a few times and then placed his hands around the man's throat and began to squeeze. All he could see was the pain this son of a bitch had caused his son. He owed him death for that.

"Jethro!" came Mike's voice.

Gibbs reluctantly let go of McGee. He could kill him later. Right now, his son needed him. He quickly followed Mike's voice down to where the basement was. He got to the top of the stairs and saw Mike knelt down by his son, who didn't look to good. Gibbs immediately ran to his boy's side.

Mike got up and left father and son alone.

Gibbs grabbed the side of his son's face. The kid was unconscious. "Hey, Tim. Come on son, wake up."

After a few seconds, Tim started to move around a little. He moved his head from side to side and his eyes fluttered open. "D...Dad."

Gibbs smiled. "Hey. It's going to be alright."

Tim cried out in pain. His leg really hurt. "H...he shot me."

Gibbs looked down and saw the bullet hole in his son's leg. "Oh God. Okay, it's going to be alright. We're going to get you help." He then turned around. "Mike, would you..." He trailed off when he realized that Mike was no longer there.

Mike walked into the living room and saw McGee just getting his bearings. He took out his gun and pointed it at him.

Brad looked up at him. "You can't kill me. I'm surrendering."

"Not in my story," Mike said smirking. "This is how it's going to go. We came here to stop you from killing a federal agent. You drew your weapon on me and I returned fire."

"You can't do that," Brad said in fear.

"Are you afraid? Maybe like your stepson was every time you came after him? Serves you right. You know, I should leave you to Jethro, but I won't. See, if he shoots you, people will be less likely to believe it was self-defense." Most people wouldn't believe he did it in self-defense either, but it would look much better from him than from Jethro.

"No, please, you can't!"

"I can and I will," Mike said before pulling the trigger.


	49. Chapter 49

Gibbs had just hung up with 911 when he heard the shots. He thought about going up there, but he knew Mike could handle himself, and right now Tim needed him more.

He turned back to his son and noticed that he was nodding off. Gibbs knelt down and gently patted his son's face. "No, come on, stay awake."

Tim groaned. "I'm t…tired."

"I know you are, son, but you need to stay awake. Come on, the ambulance is on its way," Gibbs said before resting his hand on his son's back.

Tim flinched and screamed out in pain.

Gibbs immediately retracted his hand. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Tim continued to hiss in pain for a few moments. "M…my back."

Gibbs got up and went to the other side of his son. Tim saw what his father was about to do. "No, pl…please don't."

"It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to see it," Gibbs said before lifting up his son's shirt. The sight of it horrified him beyond words. Tim's entire back was covered with bruises and welts. It looked like a whip had been taken to him.

Gibbs felt like he was going to lose it. It broke his heart to see his boy in so much pain. Tim had never done anything to anybody. He was one of the kindest, gentlest people in the world. He didn't deserve this. He was going to kill McGee for this. There was no way he was going to let anyone hurt his son like this and live to tell the tale.

Gibbs took a deep breath to try to calm himself. He needed to put his personal feelings aside to try to help his son right now. He climbed back over his son and looked him right in the eye. "Hey, it's going to be okay. You're going to be fine, I promise."

"I kn…knew you'd c…come. J…just wasn't s…sure you'd m…make it in time," Tim said. He had no doubt his father would find him, he just wasn't sure he'd be alive when he did.

"I made you a promise, didn't I? I promised that I would protect you from that monster. Now I may have gotten here a little late, but I made it, right? I will always come for you. I will always save you," Gibbs promised.

Just then, Mike walked down. "How is he?"

"He's going to be fine," Gibbs said. He wasn't sure who's benefit he was saying it for, Tim's or his own.

Mike bent down and placed a hand on Tim's shoulder. "You hang in there, kid, helps coming," he said before turning back to Gibbs. "You called an ambulance, right?"

"Yeah. They really need to hurry up," Gibbs said. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep Tim from losing consciousness, and once that happened, they were in trouble.

"I took care of the problem upstairs," Mike told him.

Gibbs looked right at him. "You what!" He knew what that meant and he didn't like it. McGee was his to finish. He was really looking forward to squeezing the life out of him.

"It couldn't be you, Probie. It just couldn't," Mike said. He had no regrets about what he did. Yes, he knew Jethro was pissed that he didn't get to do it himself, but it was better this way. It would be much easier to make it look like self-defense if he was the one to pull the trigger.

Gibbs was about to say something when he heard the ambulance. He looked down at his son, who was just barely conscious. "Hey, you hear that? We're gonna get you to the hospital real soon."

"I'm gonna go show them down here," Mike said before getting up and heading back upstairs.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony and Ziva came to an abrupt stop outside the house. They'd all gotten the news a little while ago that Tim had been found. Franks had contacted them right after finding him. Vance immediately sent them out there. He was following them there as well.

They got out of the car and looked around. There were already ambulances and cop cars there. "There is an ambulance. That is good, yes?" Ziva asked.

"I hope so," Tony said.

Soon Vance stepped out of his car and went over to them. "What are you waiting for, let's go," Vance said before walking towards the house.

They all walked into the house and towards the living room, where they found Mike Franks with a couple of officers and a dead Brad McGee on the ground.

Vance immediately walked over to Franks. "You wanna tell me what happened here?"

"Well, sure, Director. We barged in in search of Tim. I made it down to the basement where Tim was being held. I called out to Jethro and he came running. Once father and son were together, I went back upstairs to deal with McGee. When I got to the living room, he was there pointing a gun at me. I told him to put the gun down, but not only did he refuse, but he went to take a shot at me. I fired my weapon before he had the chance," Mike explained. He decided to make the story as close to the truth as he could so that Tim wouldn't have to lie.

"You're saying you shot McGee in self-defense," Vance said skeptically. He highly doubted that was what happened. Even if it was Franks that pulled the trigger, he very much doubted that it was self-defense.

"That's right."

Vance was quiet for a minute before finally replying, "Okay."

Mike raised an eyebrow. "Okay?"

Vance nodded. "It's best for everyone that that be the truth." He still very much doubted that any of what Franks told him was the truth, but he didn't much care. McGee got what he deserved what he got. As far as he was concerned, whoever pulled the trigger was justified.

Just then, they all heard a noise coming from the next room. They went into the kitchen in time to see Tim being wheeled towards the door on a stretcher with Gibbs by his side.

Tony and Ziva immediately rushed to his side. "Tim, are you okay?" Tony asked.

"No time right now. We have to get him to the hospital. He was shot in the leg and he's lost a lot of blood," Gibbs said.

"Okay, we'll meet you at the hospital, Boss," Tony said as he watched his friend being wheeled out the front door.

"He's going to be alright, Tony," Ziva said. She wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Tony or herself.

Tony nodded numbly. "He has to be. He just has to be."


	50. Chapter 50

Gibbs paced the hallway waiting room. It felt like it had been forever since they'd gotten Tim to the hospitals and the doctors started examining him. In reality, it had probably only been like twenty minutes, but it seemed like much longer. He just wished someone would come out and tell him what was going on already.

Gibbs continued to pace until he saw Tony and Ziva headed his way. "Boss, how is he?" Tony asked.

"The doctor's with him right now. There's no news," Gibbs answered.

"What exactly happened to him?" Tony asked. He hadn't really gotten a good look when Tim was getting taken out. He'd seen that his leg was injured, but that was about it.

"McGee shot him in the leg," Gibbs said.

"He shot him? Is he alright?" asked a concerned Ziva. Being shot was very serious, even in the leg.

"He was conscious when he was brought in, but just barely and he was bleeding a lot. That's all I know right now. The doctors are working on him right now," Gibbs said, sounding distressed about the whole thing.

Tony could see worry all over his boss' face. It kind of freaked him out. If Gibbs was this scared, things were really bad. "Boss, I called Abby. She's going to go pick up Sarah from your place and bring her here."

Gibbs' eyes grew wide. He'd forgotten about Sarah. He'd been too worried about Tim to think about anything or anyone. It had momentarily slipped his mind that Sarah didn't know that her brother was shot or that her father was dead. That wasn't going to be a fun conversation. McGee might not have been much of one, but he was still Sarah's father. She wasn't going to take the news of his death very well.

Gibbs was pulled from his thoughts by Tony's voice. "Oh, here they come now, Boss."

Gibbs looked over and sure enough, Abby, Ducky, and Sarah were headed towards him. He immediately started walking towards them and engulfed Sarah in a hug as soon as he got to her.

Ducky, who could see that his friend needed some time with his surrogate daughter, led Abby towards Tony and Ziva.

Sarah hugged Gibbs tightly. "Is he okay? What happened?"

Gibbs released her after a minute. "The doctors are with him right now. He was shot, but it was in his leg so he'll probably be okay."

"He was shot? My dad shot him?" asked a horrified Sarah. Just when she thought her father couldn't get any worse, he proved her wrong.

"Yes, but the doctors are taking care of him. He's going to be okay," Gibbs said in a way that made it seem like he was trying to convince himself more than Sarah.

"Is my father in jail?" Sarah asked.

"No," Gibbs said quietly.

"Wait, so you're saying he's still out there? Even after all this, Tim's still in danger?" Sarah asked. She wanted this to be over. Even if her father had to spend the rest of her life in prison, it would be worth it to have her brother finally be safe.

"No, he can't hurt anyone anymore," he assured her.

"But if he's not in jail then-"

"Sarah, he's dead," Gibbs finally said. He wasn't sure how else to say it. There was no easy way to tell a person that their father was dead. It was better just to come out and say it.

Sarah got really quiet. She didn't know why, but that thought hadn't occurred to her. She wasn't sure how to feel about this. She knew she should probably feel some kind of grief over the fact that he was dead, but she didn't. She couldn't, not after all the pain he'd caused them all. Not after he'd shot her brother. "He's really dead? Was it you?"

"No, but only because I didn't get there first," Gibbs said. He wasn't going to bother denying that he would've killed McGee had he been given the chance. Although, for the first time, he was a little glad that Mike was the one to pull the trigger. He wasn't sure what it would've done to his relationship with Sarah had he been the one to kill her father. She might not be biologically his, but he loved her like she was. He wouldn't be able to stand the idea of losing her.

Sarah went over to a nearby chair and sat down. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I'm not sorry he's dead, but I'm sorry for you."

"I'm not. It may be wrong, but I can't bring myself to care that he's dead," Sarah said.

Gibbs was about to say something when a new voice caught his attention. "Who's here for Timothy Gibbs?"

Gibbs immediately jumped up and went over to the doctor. The others rushed over as well. "I'm his father. What's going on?"

"Your son got very lucky. The bullet went through and through. He did lose a lot of blood, but we're giving him a blood transfusion to take care of that. All and all, the bullet did very little damage," the doctor explained.

"So he's going to be okay?" Gibbs asked.

"I think he's going to be just fine. He has some minor injuries such as a couple of cracked ribs, not to mention the bruises to his back, but-"

"Wait, what about his back?" Tony asked.

"Well, he took some pretty hard blows to the back. It looks like someone took some kind of strap or whip to it."

"Oh my God," Sarah said before bringing a hand to her mouth to stifle a cry. She could hardly believe the pain her brother had endured or how evil her father really was. What kind of person beat another human being with a strap and then shot him?

Gibbs placed a hand on Sarah's back to comfort her.

There was a collective gasp from everyone else in the room as they realized just what their friend had really been through.

"He is going to be okay though, yes?" Ziva asked.

"He's probably going to have a few scars and he'll have a bit of a recover on his hands with his leg, but he should be okay," the doctor said.

"I wanna see him," Gibbs said.

"Of course, but just you for now. And we gave him something to help him sleep, so he'll probably be out until tomorrow morning."

"That's fine," Gibbs said.

"Alright, I'll take you too him."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs sat down by Tim's bedside and took his hand into his own. "Hey, son. You're going to be okay. You're gonna be hurting for a while, but you'll be fine. God, I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you. We may have only known about each other for a few months, but I already love you just as much as I ever loved Kelly. I wouldn't have been able to go on living if I'd lost you the way I lost her." It was the truth. He loved Tim just like he would've if he'd raised him. The kid was easy to love. He was an amazing person who deserved much better than his hell of a childhood.

Gibbs placed a hand behind his son's head. "You know, I can't even tell you how scared I was when I realized you were missing. It was the most terrifying moment of my life. It took me to a very dark place, as I'm sure Tony and Ziva will tell you." Now that it was over, he could recognize how bad he'd gone a little crazy. Yelling at the director, arresting Clare without evidence and denying her an attorney. Not that he regretted any of it. Everything he did was to get his son back. He wouldn't regret that. Still, he realized now how close he'd come to losing control..

"But you're alright now. That's all that matters. You're going to get through this, and I promise that when you do, no one will ever hurt you again," he vowed. "Okay, well, you get some rest, and don't worry about a thing. You dad's going to make everything okay."

Gibbs then went over to the small couch on the other side of room and made himself comfortable. Doctors and rules be damned. He wasn't leaving his son's side anytime soon.


	51. Chapter 51

Gibbs was woken up the next morning by the sound of crying and moaning. He opened his eyes and saw Tim tossing and turning in bed. He jumped up and ran to his side. "Hey, it's okay, Tim. Come on, wake up."

Tim's eyes popped open and he started breathing heavily. "D…Dad?"

"I'm here, son. You're safe now, I promise," Gibbs said.

Tim looked around him. "Hospital?"

Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, you're in the hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

Tim breathed deeply. Oh, he remembered. He wished he didn't, but he did. Brad had kidnapped him and tortured him for God knows how long. "Yeah, I remember. How long was I gone?"

"A little over twenty-four hours," Gibbs replied.

"Twenty-four hours, that's it?" Tim asked surprised. It felt like it had been at least a week.

"Yeah, it seems like much longer, doesn't it. For me too. But you're safe now. He'll never be able to hurt you again," Gibbs promised.

"Is he in custody?" Tim asked doubtfully.

"No. He's dead," Gibbs said quietly.

Tim took a deep breath. That was what he'd figured. He didn't see his father letting his tormentor live. No, he wasn't surprised that Brad was dead, nor did he really care. In fact, he felt a sense of relief. It might be wrong, but he was glad Brad was dead. He felt a sense of freedom from it. He wouldn't have to look over his shoulder or walk around with a bodyguard. He finally be able to move on with his life.

Tim's eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. If his father killed Brad, that could mean he could be in trouble. That wasn't something Tim could handle right now. He needed his dad. He couldn't lose him now. "Is the person who killed him going to be in trouble?"

"No, the person responsible is probably on his way back to Mexico as we speak," Gibbs said. He knew Mike very well. He'd come to do a job and he'd done it. He wasn't one to stick around and say goodbye, so he was probably long gone by now.

"Mexi… Wait, Franks?" Tim asked. He was the person he knew in Mexico, and he was the only one he could think of willing to go to such extremes.

Gibbs nodded. "Yup. DiNozzo called him. He could see that I was losing control and needed to be stopped. And he knew Franks was the only who could do it."

"You were losing control?" Tim asked surprised. He'd never seen his father lose control before. He always acted calm, even when he was ready to explode on the inside.

"Yeah. The thought of losing you took me to a very dark place. A place I haven't been in since Kelly and Shannon died. I was willing to do anything to save you from their fate. I don't regret it for a second, but if it had gone any further, you might have come home just to lose me," Gibbs said. As he said, he didn't regret doing anything necessary to get Tim back, but he was glad that Mike stepped in and helped him find a better way.

Tim felt a twinge of guilt. If he hadn't been stupid enough to fall into Brad's trap, his father would've never had to put his career and freedom on the line for him. "I'm sorry."

"For what? You haven't done anything wrong." Gibbs said.

"If I had just called Tony to confirm the message that was left for me, none of this would've ever happened," Tim said guiltily.

"Hey! You will not do that. You will not blame yourself for that son of a bitch's actions. He, and he alone, is responsible for what has happened the last couple of days. Hear me?" he asked. There was no way in hell he was going to let his blame himself for any of this.

"But-"

"Do you hear me?" Gibbs asked again.

Tim smiled. "Yes sir."

"Good. Now you get some rest. You really need it," Gibbs said.

"Okay," Tim said before closing his already heavy eyelids.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs went out into the hallway where he found Tony and Ziva waiting. "How is he, Boss?"

"He's alright. Obviously it's going to take some time for him to heal from this, both physically and psychologically, but he'll be okay," Gibbs said confidently. He had no doubts that Tim was going to get through this. He had no doubts because he was going to make sure of it.

"Well, that is good," Ziva said. She'd been very worried about what this would do to Tim emotionally, but if Gibbs was sure that he would be alright then so was she.

Gibbs nodded before turning his attention to Tony. "You went behind my back and called Mike Franks."

Tony looked him dead in the eyes, unafraid and unapologetically. "Yeah, I did."

There was a short pause before Gibbs finally said, "Thank you."

Tony felt his jaw nearly hit the floor. In all the years he'd worked for him, Gibbs had never ever thanked him. He was completely unprepared for it.

Gibbs smirked at his senior agent's expression. "Well, if you'll both excuse me, I need to go get Sarah." He'd sent her home with Ducky the night before. He hadn't seen any reason for both of them to sit in the hospital and watch Tim sleep.

"He thanked me. He's never done that before," Tony whispered to Ziva.

"Don't expect to hear it again, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he continued to walk away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

The next time Tim opened his eyes, he found his mother standing above him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to see how you were doing," Clare said.

"So suddenly you care?" Tim asked.

"Of course I care. You're my son," Clare said.

Tim shrugged. "That never mattered to you before. Why should it start mattering now?"

"That's not true, Tim. Of course it matters. I love you," Clare said.

"No, you don't. I don't know why, but you don't. So don't insult my intelligence by pretending you do," Tim said angrily. He couldn't even believe himself and how he was talking. Aside from the conversation he'd had with his mother after she revealed who his father was, which was on pure adrenaline, he'd never spoken to his mother this way. He was way too timid and way too afraid of Brad for that.

"I do love you, Tim. How could you think otherwise?"

"How can I not? Look at where I am right now. I'm in the hospital after being beaten and shot by your husband," Tim said.

Clare looked away. As much as she wanted to, she could no longer deny that fact. Brad had snapped and hurt her son.

"You did this to me. Maybe indirectly, but you did. If you had listened just once, this never would've happened. Hell, if you'd chosen me over him when I was a boy, this never would've happened," Tim said.

"I couldn't choose, Tim," she said.

"But you did. By not choosing at all, you chose him over me. And look what happened."

"This happened because Brad snapped. It wouldn't have ever happened if you hadn't found out the truth about Jethro."

Tim glared at her. "Don't you blame him for this. Finding out that he was my father was the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm not going to let you blame that for what Brad became. He was a monster long before that."

At that moment, Gibbs walked in with Sarah. When he saw Clare, he immediately grabbed her by the arm. "I told you to stay the hell away from him. Now get out!"

"Dad, wait!" Tim called as his father was about to kick his mother out.

Gibbs stopped and turned back to his son.

"I have something I need to say to her. Please?" Tim asked. Now that he'd finally gotten the courage to stand up to his mother, he wanted to see it through.

Gibbs hesitated. He wasn't sure this was a good idea. He was worried that Clare was going to try to push Tim into forgiving her, and given Tim's trouble with standing up for himself, Gibbs was afraid it might work. On the other hand, Tim seemed to be holding his own against his mother and it might actually help him heal a bit. Finally, Gibbs let go of Clare.

"You did exactly one good thing for me my entire life. You told me who my father was. And he's the only reason my life isn't the gigantic mess it once was. True, it would've been much better if you'd told years ago, but I suppose it's better late than never, right?" Tim asked. "But the bad far outweighs any good. You're the reason I'm in this bed. You knew where Brad was and you didn't say a word! I know you knew because I know you. Even if he didn't tell you, you would've found a way to find him. That means that you allowed him to walk around long enough for him to kidnap me and nearly kill me."

"I didn't know what he was doing," Clare said lamely.

"Oh, the hell you didn't! I know for a fact that my father has warned you on multiple occasions. Hell, Sarah warned you. You just didn't care. Protecting him from prison was more important to you than saving my life. Well, look how that all worked out. He's dead and I'm in the hospital. The man you've been trying to protect shot me in the leg. But not before torturing me a little. Not before taking a leather strap to my back!" Tim yelled emotionally. The anguish he was feeling was evident in his voice. "He laughed while I screamed. Did you know that? He got off on seeing me suffer. But that's not too surprising. He always got off on seeing me suffer. You used to watch and not do a damn thing while it happened. I wonder if you would've done anything if you'd seen him beating me. I'd like to think you would, but past experience tells me you wouldn't."

"Tim, please-"

"But you know something? It doesn't matter, not anymore. I accepted a long time ago that you weren't going to be there, so the fact that you probably wouldn't have stepped up for me yesterday doesn't really make a difference. You don't make a difference to me anymore. I'm done with you," Tim said.

"No, Tim, don't say that. Don't let your father turn you against me," Clare begged.

"He hasn't, you have. Just by being the despicable person you are. I've tried to make excuses for you in the past, but no more. I'm done. I don't care what you do anymore, but do it without me," Tim said.

"Tim-"

"Get out," Tim ordered.

Clare stared for a minute before turning to her daughter. "Sarah, please-"

"I've said all I'm ever going to say to you the last time we met," Sarah interrupted. She wasn't going to listen to her mother try to make herself look like a victim again.

Clare went to leave, but Gibbs grabbed her arm and started whispering in her ear. "Don't come back here, Clare. They don't need you." He then let her go.

Once Clare was gone, Gibbs turned to his son. "I can't even tell you how proud I am of you right now." His son had finally stood up for himself. He didn't know how he'd found the strength, but he was just glad it happened.

Tim blushed. "Yeah, I even surprised myself. I just couldn't take it when she came in here. I got so angry."

"You have a right to be. She took a lot from you. It has to be hard to know that your own mother could hurt you like that," Gibbs said.

"But you have us. You know that, right Tim?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, I do. That's probably the one good thing that came out of all this. I know beyond a doubt that you guys aren't going to leave me. It had taken a long time, but now knew that his father and sister were always going to be by his side. For the first time in his life, he finally felt loved.

THE END

**A/N: That's it. If the ending wasn't so good, sorry, I'm not that good with endings. Anyway, thank you to everyone who read and reviewed. This story got much more attention than I thought it would when I started out, which pleases my greatly, so thanks again.**


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